


With love’s light wings did I o’er-perch these walls

by CIRaccon



Category: Star-Crossed (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2020-12-17 11:57:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21054020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CIRaccon/pseuds/CIRaccon
Summary: What happens next, now that the Suvek has sent it's signal into space? Will the ships come? Does the hate between the two races diminish or grow even stronger? Do the humans on the rooftop even survive the blast?Follow the story as we finally find out what happened after Season one left us utterly deprived of an ending.At least, my take on it ;)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hai Stargazer,
> 
> I finally had enough inspiration to create a fanfic about one of my favorite series: Star Crossed. Man, was I mad when I found out they discontinued it after only one season. And then with such an ending. It has been begging me to write an ending ever since 2014.  
After re-watching it these past few weeks, I finally decided to dig in. But not with Roman and Emery.  
I found an interview from the creator of the storyline in which was told a little about how the show was supposed to continue. I won’t follow that line.  
It, among other things, said that Roman was meant to end up with Teri and Emery with Grayson. Alright, I think I can live with that. I never cared much for Emery, the way she just kept going back and forth between the two boys. Even though she hardly knew either of them.  
So, this story is not about them.  
The second time I watched the show (or should I say, this last time, cause I think I watched it more than twice) I fell in love with Drake and Taylor. The interview said that Taylor lost her baby in the car accident after the blast, that will not do for me, at all. So, she keeps her baby and Draylor will remain a solid fact.  
In this story I tried to stay true to characters, customs and canon. Not much is known, especially about Atrian stuff and Sondiv, the language, but I hope I passed the test.  
The only big thing I changed was the kind of ships we saw in the last episode. Somehow it didn’t feel right to have them being warships. Why was there only one ship sent ahead? If it was a scout ship, why were all those families on board? There were far too many warships, one or more of them could have easily traveled with a scout ship, if that was what it was. And a colonizing ship would not travel alone to find a planet, right?  
There are more things in the series that serious critics can break down, but I decided to ignore them, except this one. So, in this story there will be ships, but they won’t be for making war. And Vega’s husband is captain of one of them, but he’s not the boss of them all.  
I hope you will enjoy my little creation.

Taylor's world was flipped upside down. It had been, ever since she first laid eyes on Drake of the Atrians, but now it was ten time worse. She used to be in charge. Of everything. In complete control both at school and at home, and now ... now she was upside down. Her head was still spinning from the somersault her car just did. Driving away from the Mardi Grass place hadn't seen so difficult. She hadn't even crossed the speed limit. She wished she had. Drake warned her to get away. As far away as possible, but it had been in vain.

Her throat began to hurt from all the screaming, no one came. Why did no one come? Was everyone dead? Did the bomb go off and kill everybody? Than why was she still alive? It couldn't just be because she was in a car. There had been others driving and now there was no one moving.

Wait, was that gasoline she was smelling?

"No ... no, Drake!" Her shout ended in a sob. Would he even be still alive? Did the Trags care whether they killed a few of their own or not? Or did they build in a precaution, so that it would only kill humans?

Taylor's sobbing intensified when she thought about her friends in the building. Grayson, Emery, Eric and Julia. They couldn't stop the bomb. Did they manage to get away in time?

Her head was beginning to hurt from hanging upside down. Her cries for help were pitiful and her hands flew around helplessly trying to find the clasp from her seatbelt.

Her fingers caressed her stomach and all of a sudden she gasped. The baby.

"My baby." The panic attack made it impossible to think straight for a few minutes and her screaming intensified. Until a tiny spark of common sense triggered the thought that she was now part Atrian and that her child was strong and so was she.

With new determination she ignored the increasing stench of the gasoline that must be leaking from the tank. Her right hand followed the belt all the way down to the clasp and when she pushed the button, she fell down.

"Ouch!"

Within the confines of the little space she had left, she managed to get on hands an knees, scraping them blood red over the broken glass, and climb out from under the vehicle. Her bag was inside, but she didn't try to recover it. A small spark ignited the gasoline and with eyes wide open, she began to run.

She hit the grass when the car exploded behind her. The sound drowning out the noise from the silent chaos that was everywhere. Sirens wailing in the distance. At least not all of Edendale was dead, she hoped, scrambling up.

Her legs almost gave out when she thought about her parents, they were at the parade. A sob escaped her when she looked around for the first time. There were people, lying on the ground all around her. Were they all dead?

"No, no, no, no." Wobbly she started towards a woman and child still holding hands, but she halted when she saw movement nearby. A man in a gray jacket and a young boy with a darker skin. They were alive. They were running, as if the devil himself was chasing them, but they were alive.

"Hey." Taylor yelled. They didn't hear her, so she mustered all the strength she had and screamed again: "Hey!"

The man stopped, looked at her and almost began to run again, but she held out her hand and pleaded, glowing tears bright on her cheeks: "Please, help me."

As the man came closer, slowly, cautiously keeping the child behind him, she saw that he was an Atrian. Than her theory was true, Atrian's could withstand the effect of the bomb. Her baby saved her.

"You are human?" the strange man asked, when he was in range of being heard without having to shout.

"I am." A little of her pride returned when she said it, standing upright.

"But you carry one of us." It was not a question.

Taylor nodded and whispered: "Please help me."

The man narrowed his eyes, looked at the child, then back over his shoulder and at her again.

"Come", was all he said as he began to walk again. She followed. There was nothing else she could do. If everyone she knew was dead, than there was no other place to go than with this man, who could very well be the enemy. Somehow that didn't seem to be very probable, given he was running away from the blast and protecting a child that was clearly not his own.

They moved fast and she was panting on her high heels. Yet her new strength helped her to keep up.

Clinging to the hope that Drake was still alive, she followed the man into the forest towards a stream where there was a boat. In it, they moved deeper and deeper into the Bayou, until she could no longer tell east from west.

\---

Drake was shaking Grayson and shouting in his face to wake up. He had been thrown across the roof when the suvek went off and was still shaking from the effect the blast had on him. So it wasn't a bomb. At least, not like he had expected. Suvek meant blast and that's what it had done. It had given a blast to everything around for who knows how far and now it was sending out a signal to who knows where. For the moment he couldn't be bothered with the beacon of eye soring blue light that pierced the sky. Grayson was not only out cold from the blast that appeared to have a much harder effect on humans, the boy was also shot. He glanced aside a second, but Zoe was most definitely dead, this time. Wasn't she? He jumped up, crossed the roof to where the black haired Trag lay and checked her pulse. The knife with which he had stabbed her lay at his feet and full of rage, he picked it up and thrust it into the girls chest. If she had been faking it, she would surely have reacted by now, but there was no movement what so ever and her face was rigid and pale.

As sure as he had ever been that she would not come back to haunt him again, he left the knife inside Zoe's body and ran back to Grayson and the others.

Roman was holding Emery, but his friend was no longer desperate.

"She breathing?"

"Yes, I think she'll be alright. How is Grayson?"

Drake checked the boy and found a weak pulse. "Alive, but he needs to go to the hospital."

"Let's hope the blast didn't reach it." Carefully Roman stood up and lifted Emery in his arms.

Drake followed his lead and picked up Grayson. He could not just toss him over his shoulder, like he would normally. Both wounds were bleeding. They had to hurry.

Downstairs they found Eric and Julia on the floor. Both were breathing, Roman checked, so they removed the crates that were piled up against the doors and left the pair inside.

Outside, everyone lay flat on the ground. Nowhere was any movement. Even the dogs were silenced.

As fast as they could, he and Roman carried their friends in the direction of the hospital.

Fear for Taylor was nagging at him and if it wasn't for the injury, he would have left Grayson right there and went searching for his girl. Would her pregnancy have protected her against the blast? He could only hope so. Yet the thought that she would have tried to call any of them by now if she was awake, kept him from releasing his fear. She had been driving. Who knew what could have happened if the blast caught her on the road.

"Roman!"

He looked up and saw Romans sister on the ground. On her knees was the head of Lucas, who was just as out cold as the rest of them.

"He is breathing, are they ..." Sophia's eyes radiated anxiety, but she was quickly relieved by Romans words.

"They are alive, but we have to get Grayson to the hospital, he was shot."

"Shot?"

"No time, stay here with Lucas. He'll be fine."

Drake caught sight of some men, running in the distance. "Roman." He pointed.

"Trags", Roman commented. He changed his mind and ordered his sister to come with them.

"But, Lucas-"

"He will be fine. No one knows he was with us. he'll wake up like the rest and find his way home. We have to get Grayson to the hospital and then we have to get back to the Sector as fast as possible."

Careful not to be seen by the Trags, who were running in the direction of the building they just left, the five of them continued to the hospital. The farther away they came, the more people seemed to be awake. Police cars drove in to locate the source of the energy blast and here and there people were beginning to sit up, who were cast down.

"The blast must have been less here", Sophia panted as she ran behind them.

Suddenly they were stopped by the police. Drake left it to Roman to explain the situation. Grayson and Emery were taken by a nearby ambulance towards the hospital, but no amount of arguing made it possible to get them to go with them. The police were ordered to take all Atrians they found back to the Sector, so that's what they did.

Roman's mom was waiting by the gate and cried in relief when she saw her children. She quickly ushered them into her pod and looked apologetically at Drake. "I'm sorry, Drake, I went to find Saroya, but I could not find her anywhere."

"You think the Trags have her?" Roman jumped up from his seat at the table, probably planning to bust in there and get Drake's mom out, but he quickly put a hand on his friends shoulder.

"My mom is fine, she is save. We went outside through one of Weeble's tunnels. She's probably in Eljida by now."

"Eljida? Then she must have been the one ..." Roman stopped talking, looked at his mother and shook his head when Drake opened his mouth to ask what was the matter.

Later. He would find out later what it was that his friend was going to say.

Knowing his mother was safe, however, did not help him feel any better at the moment. He kept pacing back and forth a while until his build up energy was so high he could not keep it in him anymore.

"I have to find Taylor, I have to know she is okay."

"You can't go now. They'll just arrest you and bring you back here", Sophia said.

Roman added: "Or the Trags get you, and have your head. She will be alright, she was far away from the blast. She is probably back home, trying to reach anyone with a phone."

"Or she got hit and crashed her car. I have to know, Roman. The Trags won't get me."

Romans mother placed some glasses filled with water on the table and said: "The Trags got arrested."

All three of the kids looked at her with stunned expressions and she explained calmly: "Someone must have tipped the police, because that Gloria woman marched in here with armed guards and walked out with Vega and the others in chains. I reckon they will be in the Crate for quite some time."

Drake felt his heart do a flip as he thought what this could mean. With the Trags gone, integration would speed up considerably. Maybe there was hope for him and Taylor to be a real family. His mother could be there as well, since the danger for her was removed together with Vega. They were free again.

But that didn't take away the need to find out anything, right this minute.

"I have to go. No Trag will stop me now and I'll use Weeble's tunnel. I can't just sit here and do nothing. I have to know if she and our child are safe."

"Child?"

Ignoring the shout from Romans mother, he looked at his best friend and nodded. Then he sprinted out the door. Leaving his friend to explain the kid-thing to his mom. Thinking about how his mother reacted when she heard the news, he could not help but feel proud of her. Romans mom would probably rip her sons head of if it had been him.

Running as fast as he could to the hidden doorway, putting all thought about mothers and Trags out of his head, he thought that the first thing he would get after he found Taylor, was a phone.

\---

Taylor had taken tours in the Bayou before. She had even seen her fair share of crocodiles. Yet she had never been so deep inside the swampland like this. Sitting in a boat, with a man with strange markings on his hands and face, more than she had ever seen with any Atrian before, she began to feel as if she had fallen of the face of the Earth and was now on a different planet. Was this what Atria had looked like? She didn't dare to ask. The man had not said a word the whole time and even the child was silent. He looked a little familiar, which was strange. Whom did she know that had a child like this?

Her gaze drifted back to the water surrounding her. It was beginning to get dark and it was freaking her out. No land was in sight, only huge cypress trees standing tall in the water with their leaves hanging low. Where was the man taking them?

All of a sudden they hit ground and even though she could hardly see a thing, she still saw enough to know there was nothing here that looked even remotely like a safe place to stay.

The man stood up and turned towards her, but before he could say one word, Taylor picked up the first thing that she saw in the boat and held it before her like a weapon, screaming: "If you hurt me, Drake will hunt you down and he will find you and he will kill you."

The man merely raised his eyebrows a bit, looked at the pathetic piece of broken ore that she was holding and smiled. "Put that down. No one will hurt you."

He picked up a strange looking device and pressed a button on the side. Nothing happened. That is, nothing happened to her, or the boat. Around them, however, things began to move. Little things at first. Branches swept aside, and something that looked like a dock moved towards them. And then, all of a sudden, an opening appeared in a tree and showed a panel. The man entered a code, too fast for her to see and the panel disappeared again. The dock hit the boat with a soft thud and the man tied the boat to it. Then he helped the child out of the boat on to the dock and held his hand out to her.

"You won't be harmed", he assured her again.

There was something about his face, that made her think about her grandfather that used to spoil her when she was a child. Not his looks, her grandfather was a big, sturdy man. No, it was in the gentleness of his eyes.

"Oh, what the heck. It's not like I have anywhere else to go to. Since they're all dead." A small sob escaped her, but she quickly pulled herself together. She would not fall apart here in this alien environment, in front of this alien man. A little shaky she stood up and placed her hand in his. He helped her up on the dock, which was shaky itself and helped nothing to steady her or her nerves.

As he got out of the boat himself, however, the man said: "They are not dead, merely unconscious for a while."

He walked passed her then, grabbed the child's hand and walked away from her before the words sunk in.

"Wait, what? Not dead? Then why did you take me here?"

Struggling to stay upright on her heels, she began to walk after the two.

The man simply answered: "You asked for help."

"Since when do you help humans?" she muttered, almost tipping over, when her heel stuck between two boards. With a huff she stopped, ripped the shoos from her feet, threw them half a mile away and continued barefoot.

The dock was not as long as she feared and took them to an entrance of what seemed to be a cave. It was covered with branches thick with hanging leaves that covered most of it. The man never paused, but walked right into the cave and Taylor quickly followed. Inside the cave was another panel and when the man entered another code, she heard the slushing sound of the dock retreading into whatever place it came out of. After a click ensured her the dock, with the boat attached, was probably invisible to any passerby, the man said: "Stay close by, one wrong step and you can be lost forever."

That was all the encouragement she needed. As close as she could, without actually stepping on his heels, she walked behind the man. The child trotted as if he had been here before, which reassured her a bit.

Her parents were alive. A happy feeling bubbled towards the service, and all of a sudden the dark surroundings didn't creep her out so much anymore. Drake was alive, her parents were alive, she was alive and probably all her friends were alive as well. At least, she hoped. Except for Zoe, that hag could have been thrown off the building for all she cared. How could she have been so mistaken with her? They had been friends for years and all that time Zoe had been an Atrian. And not just any Atrian, a terrorist. A killer. She shivered and sped up a bit when she saw the distance between her and her guide had increased.

The walk was difficult, she was sure her feet were bleeding and bruised and perhaps her little toe was broken, but luckily it was short. They had passed at least a dozen other cave entrances, and had turned so many times that the threat of being lost was very, very real. Yet now the sky became visible and small dots of light began to shine through the tall tree trunks and hanging leaves of the massive cypresses. Soon it were hundreds and she could make out more boats and houses, connected by wire bridges. Some of the houses were build right on the water, others higher up in the trees. It looked like a fairyland and for a moment Taylor was sure she was dreaming.

That was, until two tall men appeared with some sort of guns. They spoke with her guide in their own language and looked at her face and then at her stomach and she didn't have to guess what was discussed.

They let the three of them pass without much argument.

With the eyes of every inhabitant of this strange place upon her, Taylor followed her guide over a couple of wire bridges towards what seemed to be the main dwelling. A large, multi sided building, made from roughly sawed panels, covered with a thick layer of hay-like leaves, floated in the middle of the hidden lake where this Atrian hide-out was build. Ten or twelve wire bridges leaded there from all directions and many boats were already beginning to float their way. A few Atrians swam and their markings lit up the water around them. More, Taylor did not see, because she entered the building and was suddenly faced with more Atrians than she had seen together in her whole life. Up close that was.

Was this her future? Living with these aliens, who all looked at her like she had some sort of decease? Chin up, she thought to herself. This was nothing permanent. Drake would find her and they would go back and live in Edendale Springs, just like Gloria showed her. No swamplands for her and her baby. She would raise her little alien in a house made of bricks.

Her guide spoke in Sondiv and she could only guess what he said. He halted when a blond woman entered the shack, a women who did not look as if she had lived here that long. Her hair was a bit messy, but her black clothes were clean and a lot more stylish then that of the others around her. Most of the Atrians looked like they were trying to blend in with the swampland. Which, on second thought, they probably were.

Changing his language to English, the man spoke to the woman and said: "Saroya, good that you are here. I have brought your son's woman."


	2. Chapter 2

Getting out of the Sector was easy, locating Taylor ... not so much. It was eating Drake alive that he had no idea where to begin his search. Should he start at the hospital? But he was technically not allowed outside the gates, so a public place like the hospital was out of the question. He thought a bit about trying to find Lucas or Eric, see if they were awake and could help him. But there was no way he could contact them. In the end he just started walking along the edge of the circle of where he thought the blast had radiated.

Everywhere he went, people were waking up and walking around panicking. As if the Atrians could charge at any moment. A lot of anger and hate was shown on the faces around him and he hid his face as deep in his hood as he could. Showing his marking right now would not be a smart move.

He felt as if he had been walking around for hours and he was just about to give up his search, when he caught a few humans talking about a car that completely burned out, just one block away. It could be anything, anyone, yet an undecipherable, sick feeling washed over him and without an other thought he burst through the street, around the corner, unto the main road that led out of town.

He spotted the wreck immediately and almost lost his footing. There was no way that anyone in that car could have survived the explosion. Unless ...

His feet took him to the burned out, used-to-be silver car before his mind completely comprehend what could be the meaning of this scene. His head began to spin and he swayed on his feet until he sunk down on one knee beside the glass that was everywhere. Breathing was difficult and he could barely look into the car, but he had to. It didn't look like there had been anyone before him to check the wreck, so if she had been inside ...

With every bit of effort he could muster, he slowly turned his head. At first he could not grasp what he was seeing. The inside was so mangled and charred that it was difficult to even make out the chairs. But then his brain jumped into gear and his eyes saw that there was no one in the seat. No black remains, no bones turned to coal, no fabric caught by flames. Nothing. Just the usual interior of a car, only than turned to crisp.

She was not here. She was not in the car when it exploded. She was alive.

Somewhere in his mind he understood the seriousness of her condition when he looked at the car one last time and truly saw the state it was in. the way it had been upside down, even before the explosion. But he was much too relieved that she had apparently been able to walk away from the crash, to think about that for long. There were no signs of blood on the street. She must have been alright. But then, where could she be?

Probably at her house. The only problem was, he didn't know how to find her house in daylight, or what her parents looked like. He would have to be content with the knowledge that she was alive. There was nothing else that he could do now, other than return to the Sector and wait for her to contact him.

With a much lighter heart, he ran back to the entrance of the tunnel. Helped by the sunset that announced the end of a very long day.

\---

It took Taylor a few seconds to understand that her guide had spoken about her. She looked at the blond woman, back at the man, who now handed the young boy over to an Atrian women who took him with her, out of the hut.

The soft voice of the blond women drew her attention back to her. "Taylor?"

"Y... yes, that's me. Do I know you? And what", she spoke, chin out, in the direction of the man who had begun to walk away "did you mean by her 'son's woman'?"

Instead of the man, the woman, Saroya, answered. "You are the girl my son Drake spoke of."

Taylor whipped her head back to Saroya and with bulging eyes she whispered, tears glistening: "You are Drake's mother?"

Before she knew it, she was wrapped up in a warm hug, and not knowing until now how much she had needed that, she began to cry. Whispers erupted all around her, but for the moment she didn't care.

"Come", Saroya said after a while, when the worst sobbing was over. "I don't have a place of my own yet, but the people here are friendly enough. We'll find a quiet place where we can talk. You can change into something more ... suitable."

Normally Taylor would have taken offense in that statement, but looking down at her disheveled clothing, she could only agree.

Saroya took her to a place that was most likely used for washing and there she tended to her feet. Sturdy straps of cloth, padded with soft herbs were bound around the wounds and after washing up, she was dressed in things she could only ever describe as rags, but were actually quite comfortable. She guessed it was a good thing that Drake was not here to see her like this. On the other hand, perhaps he would like it. These were his people, after all.

They left the washing place and Saroya led her to a corner near the entrance of the cave. A quiet spot, as she had promised. It was now completely dark, but Drake's mother had brought a lantern and some food, which Taylor devoured, and water to drink.

When she was finished, she wiped her mouth a little self aware, but Saroya merely smiled. "I was just like that, when I was pregnant with Drake. Always hungry. His father used to make fun of me."

"Is ... is his father here?"

Saroya shook her head calmly. "No, he was killed just before the crash on arrival day."

Taylor opened her mouth, but Saroya cut her off. "It is a tale for another time. Now I would like to hear what happened, that is, if you are not too tired?"

Shaking her head, Taylor made herself comfortable. She was a little tired, but the situation was so strange that she knew for a fact that she could not yet sleep, even if she was forced to. And talking with Drake's mother, getting to know this side of his life, the side she had always wanted to know about, was something she didn't want to pass up for anything.

As detailed as she could, with the limited information she had, she described how she had found Zoe, who had taken her up on a rooftop. Zoe, who turned out to be an Atrian, somehow. Zoe, who had tried to kill her. With a haughty sniff, she moved on and told Saroya about how Drake and the others were there when she got out of the elevator. How Drake had urged her to get out of town and so she had done that. She quickly talked about the crash, how she escaped the car and how she had found the only other beings that were up at the time.

"He took me to this place, and now, here I am. My phone died in the car, so no one knows I am even alive. My parents must be worried sick and Drake ..."

"Jesytur will get word to him, don't worry. He will come here and we will all be together, and safe."

"Jesytur?"

"The man who brought you here. He controls who comes and goes in Eljida."

There was one fear still remaining. And in Saroya's eyes she could see that same fear. She didn't want to think about it, but she had to say it. She had to have someone tell her that her fear was unnecessary.

"Do you think they got away? Do you think they could escape? The blast ... that thing. It went of, but ... do you think Drake ..." She dared not continue and Saroya was silent for a long time.

At last she said: "I have to believe he made it. I have to. Anything else ... After the crash, when we were put in the Sector ... Castor, Romans uncle, he was responsible for the crash, he murdered the pilot, Drake's father, he set me up and the guards put me in the Crate. For the last eight years I have spent every day wondering how my little boy was growing up. When I was set free, when I finally found him ... I almost didn't let him go to steal the suvek. I wanted to stop him. Keep him safe, he was my baby. Except, he wasn't a baby anymore. I tried to explain to him that having a child meant you would do whatever it takes to keep them safe and all the while", she placed a hand on Taylor's stomach, which jolted her a bit.

"All that time he knew exactly what I was talking about. He told me about you, when we left the Sector that night. He told me to go here, to Eljida, but that he could not go yet, because he had to take care of you. I was so proud of him then."

Taylor felt warm tears streaming over her cheeks again. Glowing, probably. She was crying an awful lot lately.

The woman in front of her smiled and used her thumbs to wipe the blue stripes away. "People here, they don't believe very much in integration. They have been so separate, so completely alienated here, that seeing you, seeing their own characteristics on you, gave them quite a stir."

Saroya must have seen the distress in her face, cause she quickly added: "Don't worry, no one will harm you here. Life in Eljida is sacred, especially Atrian life. There are so few of us left, after all."

\---

Back up in Romans pod, Drake couldn't quite get himself to go to his own pod all alone, he told the others what he found. The distinct disapproval from Roman's mother, Maia, was felt thoroughly, but she held her tongue, for which he was grateful. In the end, when there was nothing else to say or do, they went to sleep. Hoping the new day would bring news.

The next day brought news indeed. A lot of it. In all shapes and sizes, most of it good, but some of it very disturbing.

From a very early start, the events of the previous day had caused the eyes of the world once again to look upon Edendale. It was all over the news, how a terrorist origination of the Atrians had been able to build a bomb and snugged it out of the Sector to detonate it. Whether or not they actually succeeded was debatable, due to the fact that only one person was actually harmed that day. A few bruises and cuts from falling over were mentioned and one person still missing, but as far as the whole threat went, the bomb was not really a bomb in the exploding, killing kind of sense.

Drake didn't need a name to know that Taylor was probably the one missing. It became a fact when Gloria herself came to Roman's pod to talk to him. He told her what he knew about the car, but that he had no idea where she could have gone afterwards. There was a distinct hostility between Gloria and Maia that he didn't completely understand, but it didn't bother him enough to worry about. It was not until he and Roman were walking through the Sector later that morning, when he came to understand a little more about Nox's hidden romance.

"So, you have a half-brother? And he came with Jesytur to Edendale yesterday to warn you?"

"Yes, and to let us meet, in case we would never get the chance. He had heard about the suvek, I think it must be from your mother."

Drake sighed. "Then at least we know she got there safely."

Roman slapped him on the back. "Hey, come with me to the hospital. With the Trags in jail, a lot of the restrictions have been removed. Gloria said we could come and go as we pleased, as long as we kept curfew."

"And let our armband scan. We're still on a leash."

"It's a longer leash, now", replied his friend. "We'll get there, don't worry. With Vega gone, and the SEU checked with water, there is no longer fear that the Trags can harm us."

"Maybe. We still don't know what that signal was and for whom it was meant. The threat could still be very real, brother."

Roman's serious face made Drake shake his head. He pounced on his shoulder and turned towards the gate. "Let's go find out if that little Red Hawk weasel made it through the night."

Grayson was still alive. His injuries were pretty severe, but the doctors were positive he would make it. Nevertheless, the hospital would be his home for the time being. Emery had been there the whole night and even though it worried Drake to see his friend struggle with his jealousy, he knew they would work it out in the end. He just wished Taylor was here to greet him in the same manner Emery flung herself at Roman.

She was able to tell them almost all of their friends were okay. Eric and Julia were with her parents. Lucas was up and about, trying to find intell about the signal, no doubt. Only no one had heard about Taylor. Emery had been under the impression she might have been with Drake, but when he told her about the car, she got really upset.

"What if the Red Hawks got her? Or some Trags that will want to trade her for Vega's release? We have to go find her."

Roman tried to calm her down, but on hearing all those terrible options he hadn't thought about before, Drake's anxiety went through the roof. She would have contacted him by now, he was sure of that. Something must have happened to her.

"I have to find her." He was already halfway down the hospital corridor, when Roman caught him.

"Easy, friend, you can't go searching Edendale all by yourself. We have no lead. You can't go door to door, asking if anyone has seen her."

"I can't do nothing!"

A nurse came shushing them and Roman placed his hand on either side of Drakes face. "Look at me."

He tried, it was just so hard to stand still when everything inside him screamed at him to leave no stone unturned.

"We will find her. You hear me? We will. We'll go to Gloria, ask her help. The police is probably already looking for Taylor, since she is officially missing, okay? Just keep it together."

He took a deep breath, nodded once, but when Roman released his head, he grunted: "If someone did take her, he would wish he placed his iwap in a jar before he came across me. I would kill him."


	3. Chapter 3

Taylor had had a difficult night. She was constantly woken by nightmares about flipping cars, blue flashes and Zoe with a knife. Her surroundings didn't help either. Every time she woke up and saw the wooden panels of the shack she was staying in, it just seemed an other version of the bad dream. And there was no one she could go to, to cuddle and find comfort. She would not go through an other night like this. If Drake would not come to her, she would go to him. Or to her parents. Either way, she would leave this place. The moist was making her hair frizzle.

At least the food was okay. Exactly the right amount of salt and full of herbs that everyone said was good for her and the baby. It relieved her to find the Atrians helpful and interested. Anything but hostile and she was beginning to believe that the only reason the Atrians in the Sector behaved like they did, was because they were locked up. If they had their own piece of land to live on, just like here in Eljida, none of the problems would have existed in the first place. Of course, there would always be those that didn't want to share, like the Trags and the Red Hawks. But they would be outnumbered by those that would live in peace.

Unfortunately, it hadn't happened like that. The majority was still locked up in a cage. Oh, if she only knew how things would turn out after the blast.

She thought about Edendale Springs and put herself up for the task of only thinking about the best. There were still a few obstacles to overcome, like, telling her parents not only that she was pregnant, but that the father of her child was alien. But also the fact that she new nothing about being pregnant, let alone being pregnant with a half alien baby. She needed information, so she did the only thing she could do and asked Saroya.

"I didn't know human-Atrian pregnancies were a reality until I came here", Drake's mother replied. "When I look at Nox's son I see an Atrian, not much different than our children. Perhaps a little less markings."

Yes, the fact that there was at least one other child that would share her baby's characteristics, gave Taylor confidence.

"I can only tell you about our pregnancies, how it goes for our women. You have to ask Gloria for the rest."

"Gloria? Why?" Taylor turned her head to look at the little boy who was playing. His curly hair stood out on all sides, but two girls were making little braids. She was sure he would look like a porcupine after they were finished, but perhaps it helped to keep it a bit less messy. She sure could use a shower. And a brush, curling irons, anything. All she had here was a string with which she had bound her hair together in a messy ponytail. Maybe she should braid it, like Saroya did. That looked kind of nice.

Drake's mother drew her attention back to the matter at hand when she answered: "Gloria is his mother."

"What? Really? Does Roman know? Oh wow, no wonder she is so set on integration to work. But why did she bring him here?"

She knew the answer before Saroya voiced it. "For his safety."

Gloria had hidden the boy, even the fact that she had been pregnant. Nobody knew that. How did she do that? And more important, if Gloria hid the boy here, would it be even safe for her to return to Edendale?

"Roman knows", Saroya said, placing a hand on her arm for reassurance. "Jesytur took the boy to him yesterday, so they could meet. And to warn Roman about the suvek."

"Yeah, what is the suvek, actually? It wasn't a bomb, like everybody thought. Was it only meant to give us a warning or did something go wrong?"

For a moment, Saroya stared up at the sky that was visible through the roof of leaves. "The suvek was never meant to cause harm to anyone. I don't even think it was meant to be taken out of the Sector. That so many humans were affected was the result of the actions of my son and the others, who tried to steal it."

Okay, this was all new to her. What had Drake been up to these last few days. And more important, why did nobody tell her?

"The suvek gave a blast to ensure no one would tamper with it, until the signal was sent. It's a beacon."

"A beacon for what?"

"Not what, whom. A beacon for the rest of our kind, so they know we found a planet to live on and they can come too."

\---

Roman was right, the police was already searching for Taylor. Her parents were really upset, but they had no idea about how much their daughter was actually involved in anything. To them, she was just missing.

Now that the humans knew that there were Atrians living among them with their markings removed, all government people had to be checked. Already they had found four policeman who had been undercover Trags. They had been sent to the Crate as well. For now the advice was to stay indoors as much as possible, as the police and SEU's swept the city, looking for terrorists. Human, or Atrian. Drake didn't care about them, his only concern was finding Taylor.

Mid day, when they were back in the Sector, word came for Roman that the Hwatab wanted to see him. They parted as Drake went back to his pod to grab something to eat and to pace up and down, trying to think of what to do.

He had not much luck with that and after an hour or so, Roman came to find him and told him what the Hwatab had wanted.

"They made me Iksen."

That stopped Drake dead in his tracks. "They did what?"

"Yeah, they found Castor, apparently someone killed him with the same knife he used to stab me with. I reckon it's Teri, since she's the one who told Emery and me that he was not a problem anymore."

Wow, he knew the girl was tough, but even he hadn't seen that coming.

"After everything, they didn't find it hard to believe me anymore, so I told them everything. With the Trags out of the way, the leaders at least, and Castor gone, they figured I was the most logical choice to lead our people in the footsteps my father left me to follow."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Yeah. After meeting my half-brother, I thought things over and decided integration is what I really want. I need it to work, not just for Emery and myself, but also for my brother, for Sophia and for you and Taylor. And now I have the power to really make a difference. I cannot let anyone else take my place and allow them to mess it up like Castor did."

"Emery's not gonna like it."

Roman shook his head and sighed. "I know, I kind of promised her we would be together and I really want to. But this is more important than just the two of us."

Drake slapped his friend on the back. "Well, good for you, Iksen. I'm just glad that burden is not on my shoulders."

"Yeah, cause your burden is so much easier to bear." They laughed for a moment, until the gravity of his situation pulled him back to the ground.

"Help me, Roman, I'm going crazy here."

Right then, a knock on his door echoed through the pod. A young boy stood in front of him when he opened the door and gave him a note.

"What does it say?" Roman came close as the messenger boy ran away.

Drake opened the white piece of paper and saw only one word: Eljida.

"Eljida?"

"It's my mom, she's asking for me. I have to go there. Come with me?"

Roman's face lit up, than faltered. "I can't. I have to stay here. There is a lot I have to take care of here. A lot of people who are still unhappy about a lot of things. I have to set up a meeting between the Hwatab and Gloria and I need to find out who is on my side in all this."

"And what the signal from the suvek meant."

"Yeah, that too. Go, bro. Find your mom. Tell her it's safe to come back."

Pressing his lips together, Drake swallowed the words that were on his tongue. That his mom might not want to come back. That he perhaps, after he found Taylor, would want to stay in Eljida himself as well. Even though Vega was safely tugged away and no longer a threat to him or his family, it was by no means safe out there for a mixed-couple. Let alone their baby.

They said goodbye and parted. Roman to his responsibilities, he to his.

Walking out of the Sector with no one to look over his shoulder for was unnerving. He found his way quickly to the path Roman had told him about. The sign of Ebbingson Road, hanging lop-sided on one nail, marked the beginning of the trail and when his eyes picked up the path that could only be seen by Atrians, he began to run.

Time faded in the distance as he left all civilized Edendale behind him, until he came to a clearing where the abandoned boathouse told him the origin of the name Jesytur. Three spots of blackened coal showed him where the fires should be lit, but before he could grab a hand full of logs from the pile, a voice called his name.

"Drake?"

He turned so fast that he almost tripped and his knife was in his hand a second later, but when he saw who had called his name, he dropped it.

With a squeal Taylor threw herself in his arms and had she not been given extra strength due to her pregnancy, he would have hurt her by squeezing her too hard. He hadn't known he cared so much about this blond, peppy human being, until she went missing. Now that he had her back, he would never let her go.

"Where have you been? I have been going out of my mind trying to find you. I saw the car, for a moment I thought you were dead."

"And what about me? I have been in agony wondering if you even survived the rooftop."

He held her at arms length and looked her over. She looked well, though a bit tired and her eyes were glowing with tears again. But that only proved to him their baby was alright as well. He frowned as he looked at her attire. "What are you wearing? How did you get here? Did you get the message to me? But-"

She silenced him with a kiss and a little out of breath explained afterwards: "When I got out of the car, I saw a man and a child running. He took me to Eljida, did you know that existed? Yeah, you probably did. Your mother was there, she wanted to come too, but it isn't safe for her, isn't it? But I couldn't stay there any longer. I had to know if you were alright. Jesytur took me here and told me to wait, he said he would get word to you, while he went and talked with some people in the Sector. Oh Drake, I am so glad you are alive. What happened?"

She was out of breath after that and took a great swig from a canteen he recognized as being from his people. He was glad to find that nothing that had happened to her, had broken her spirit. Her mouth still worked fine.

It was his turn to talk and as he sat down on the log pile, he pulled her on his lap. Everything that had happened from the moment they were apart, left his lips in a shortened version. Right up until his brief conversation with his new Iksen, slash best friend.

After that, they were silent for a while. Both trying to wrap their heads around how different their situation had become from a mere twenty-four hours ago.

"Drake," Taylor said at last, her voice soft and fragile, "please don't ask me to live in Eljida. I know it's a safe place, but ... look at me. I can't live like that. Gloria took me to a place right outside Edendale, where they are building houses. For the Atrians and mixed-couples. We could go there, right? Your mother could live with us."

He took a deep breath and looked at the face of the girl he had come to love. A house. A real house. He wouldn't even know how to imagine that. He was barely six years old when he left Atria. Memories of his old home were fragmented at best. From the moment he crash-landed here on Earth, the only home he had known was a pod. A few short years with his mother, who was mourning his father and constantly hiding. After that he spend his days with Roman and most of his nights as well, until he got older. All his teen aged life he had been alone, fighting for his right to live and now all of a sudden there was a house. It seemed too good to be true.

"Vega is gone, but that doesn't mean all threat is gone. The Red Hawks took Emery when they even thought she was pregnant with one of us. What do you think they will do to you when you start showing?"

"But Vartan is gone, right? They locked him up."

"Yes, but he wasn't the only one."

"Please, Drake, just ... I'm not one of you. I'm a spoiled brad, who's slept in a four poster bed all her life. My closet is probably bigger than your pod. I like water, but only in a hot tub or pool, not in my home. I can't, I can't live in a place like this." She gestured to the greenery around her and Drake's eyes followed her hands.

"It will be only temporary, until we were sure you and our child would be safe. Atria wasn't like this. This is a hideout, where humans can't find us. On Atria we lived in houses too. Different from yours, but no less advanced. More, I'd say."

Taylor placed a hand on his cheek and sighed. "I wish I could have seen it."

"Me too." He took her hand in his and placed a kiss on a scratch that interrupted the otherwise smooth surface.

"Look", Taylor sniffed and held her head high, looking a bit more like the proud control freak he first met. "Your mom said that I wouldn't start showing for at least an other two months or even three. Atrian baby's are small, apparently. Lucky me. That gives me hope I won't look like a too big a whale in the end. No, hear me out."

He clammed his mouth shut and shook his head a little. As if his prom queen could ever look like a whale.

"I will go home, ensure my parents I just got lost after all the panic and some weird folks in the swamps gave me these clothes. They will believe me, don't worry. Then, when things have calmed down a bit, I'll tell them about you and our baby. They've already seen you once, at the Montrose ball, and you looked quite dashing then, so they won't be totally freaked. I hope.

"We'll see how things proceed after all the ... events from yesterday and then we'll decide. Alright?"

Drake opened his mouth to object, but there was actually a lot of sense in her words. Taylor might be perky and pigheaded, she was not as dumb as she sometimes seemed to be.

"Fine." He took the canister from her. Checked her outfit so that it could not be linked to anything Atrian and looked around for something he could leave a note on. There was nothing, but it wasn't necessary anymore when Jesytur stepped out of nowhere.

They quickly told him the plan, to which he agreed, to Taylor's obvious surprise. He left a message for his mother, that she could come back to live with him back in the Sector if she'd like, but that he would not go to Eljida without Taylor. After that, they watched Jesytur disappear with his boat and left to go back to Edendale. At the edge of the forest they parted.

"I promise to come to you as soon as I can. We have to keep our relationship a secret until things calm down, so I'll just ask Emery if I can join her, okay?"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot. Grayson got shot, he is in the hospital."

"What? And you're telling me this now?"

"I forgot, okay. He's fine, he'll live. But you have to act like you don't know anything about anything, alright? As far as the world's concerned, you ran off after the blast flipped your car and got lost in the woods."

She wanted to object to something, probably wanting to know more about their friends, but he shut her up by kissing her deeply.

"Goodbye, Blondie", he breathed against her lips and then he let her go and ran in the direction of the Sector.

Phone, he would contact Gloria as soon as possible to ask her to lift the phone-edict.


	4. Chapter 4

Acting all bewildered was not as much trouble as she thought it might be. Taylor got out of the woods, and tried to walk confident at first, but when she saw signs of what happened at the parade, and especially after finding her car, she had a difficult time coping.

"Don't cry, whatever you do, you can't cry", she kept repeating to herself.

A police car picked her up near the hospital and when she made it abundantly clear to them that she was okay and just needed a very hot shower, they took her home.

Her parents were so relieved that she was alive and well, that they overlooked her bizarre outfit, which she quickly discarded and disposed of in favor of a nice long bath and her favorite dress. All the time she could not stop to think about Drake and she wanted to tell her parents so badly, so she could be with him, but it was too soon. So she played her part. She gave her vague, but believable story to whomever wanted to hear and dramatized her response to hearing that Grayson was shot. Apparently he had worked together with some Atrians to stop the terrorist and got hurt. That big guy, from school, was said to have carried him all the way to the hospital, saving his live.

She was genuinely surprised to hear that and felt so proud of Drake, that she almost spilled the beans. In time, she checked herself and merely said: "That must be Drake, he may not look like it, but he's a really great guy." It thrilled her to see her parents nod.

She wasn't allowed out of the house the rest of the day, but she did manage to get her father to pick her up a new phone. The first one she called was Emery, who was with Roman and could ensure her that Grayson really was alright. He was awake and his father was with him. Probably trying to come to terms with the fact that an Atrian saved his son's life.

Drake was back in his pod, hopefully resting and for now nothing else was new. Rest seemed like a pretty good idea, now that her head was sufficiently comforted by knowing everyone she cared for was alive and as well as could be expected. After filling her plate for the second time and emptying it in front of her parents, who attributed it to her near starvation in the woods, as they called it, she went to bed. She slept till late in the morning, without dreams this time.

When she got out of bed, she took a full hour to style her attire and hair to perfection, before she went down, eat a normal breakfast and left the house. At the hospital she ate some more. How was this ever going to go unnoticed?

Grayson was glad to see her, but she didn't stay long. Just long enough to hear that he made his father promise to disband the Red Hawks. That sure was good news. At least, if his father listened to him.

Her next stop was Gloria, whom she found at her office.

"Taylor, good to see you made it. I heard you got lost?"

"Yeah, about that." Taylor figured Gloria could hear the truth, considering she needed her help the coming months. She closed the door behind her and sat down.

"I wasn't really lost. I went to Eljida."

Gloria looked at her as if she said she had been to the moon, but then realization dawned.

"You saw ..."

"Yes, your son is alright. He seemed very happy. They were braiding his hair. I met him and Jesytur, is that really his name, by the way? Never mind, I met them after the blast when all the people were out cold. I asked him to help me and he must have seen I was pregnant, I was probably crying, because he took me with him.

"I met Drake's mother while I was there and made Jesytur bring me back yesterday. Drake got to me and brought me out of the wilderness. My parents and the police just think I got lost, but I figured I could tell you the truth, considering."

Gloria's shook her head and authoritative as always, nodded once and said: "Right, thank you for telling me this. I think it's best you just stick to the lost-story."

"Is ..." Taylor thought a second before she continued, "Edendale Springs, will that also be for the Atrians living in Eljida?"

"If things proceed the way the seem to be going now, I don't see why not. Although it might proof difficult for the humans to accept that the alien numbers are in fact greater than they think."

"They may become even greater."

"What do you mean?"

Taylor swallowed. Oh no, she should probably not have said that. Although it could be wise to have the humans prepared.

"Saroya told me, about the suvek. That is was not a bomb, but a signal. To the other Atrians still out there."

"Telling them what?" Gloria's face showed great concern.

"That it was okay for them to come here."

There was a knock on the door that shocked them both.

"Just a minute", Gloria yelled and in a softer tone she said: "Don't tell anyone. I will go to the Hwatab and talk to them about it. I hear Roman is made Iksen. That ... is probably a good thing."

"He met your son", Taylor blurted out.

Again Gloria's eyed widened, but she pulled herself together and only nodded once again.

"Come to me, when you have any questions", she said, looking at Taylor's stomach and smiling a bit, before walking to the door.

Taylor smiled as well, thankful for the understanding of the women and finding in her an ally.

As Gloria opened the door, they were greeted by two unexpected faces.

"Drake!" Taylor was about to jump in the boy's embrace, but checked herself just in time. Even though all parties present knew about them, it was better at the time, to get used to a more sedate greeting.

"Gentlemen, how can I help you?" Gloria ushered them inside and Taylor was left wondering whether she should stay and wait or leave.

The door opened again and Drake reappeared. He checked the hallway and on finding it empty, he took her up in his arms and kissed her passionately. "Wait here for me?" he whispered and moved back into the office.

Alright, that settled it. She found a chair in the hall and sat down.

\---

"Iksen", Gloria officially greeted Roman and smiled her little half-smile. "I am glad to see you. There is a lot we have to discuss. I hope I can have the same understanding with you as I did with your father."

At that, Drake snorted. Gloria raised her eyebrows and looked his way, so he scolded, hoping he did not have to say out loud what he was thinking. By Romans embarrassment he could see that his friend was thinking the same.

"I see", Gloria said, as she sat down, a bit taken aback for the first time since he knew her. "I figured Taylor knowing must have meant you are also aware of my ... past, with Nox."

No one said anything to that.

She straightened her shoulders, looked at Roman with her proud, direct gaze and said: "I don't have to explain anything to either of you and I don't owe anyone an apology, so I suggest we put this past us and focus on what is ahead?"

"If this comes out, you can bring more harm to the integration program than any Trag has ever done."

"Then I suggest this doesn't come out. Can I have your word on that?"

Roman, still standing behind the chair, the full weight of his leadership weighing on his shoulders, got a firm expression on his face, and with an air of determination Drake had not often seen with his friend, he answered: "This is no secret that can stay hidden for long. Every Atrian in Eljida knows. It is only a matter of time till this sees the light of day. I suggest strongly that you select an other human, as dedicated as you to our cause, to take your place. As you once said, I only support programs that work."

This time Gloria made no effort to hide her astonishment. "How dare you? After all I have given for your people."

Roman leaned forward. "The only reason you have given so much, is because of your son and he is the only reason I am not telling anyone about your affair, yet. But as new Iksen, I will refuse to cooperate with anyone who will endanger integration of my people."

He stood up straight again ad even though he was a whole head shorter than him, Drake had genuine respect for his leader. He looked at Gloria, curious to see if she would fight him, but the woman looked truly conflicted. She was headstrong and stubborn, but she must be bright enough to see that Roman had a point.

After a few minutes of silence Gloria pulled herself together. "Is that all you came here to tell?"

Roman relaxed a bit. "No, I came to ask if the prohibition against cellphones can be lifted. You know it never stopped the Trags from communicating anyhow. And with current relations", he glanced sideways at Drake, "it seems reasonable to allow them."

"It was the next thing I was presenting to the board, I don't think they will object much." Gloria stood up, her head held high and her eyes ablaze. Drake feared her next words, but she surprised him by saying: "Very well, for integration, for my son, I will step down and introduce you to my closest associate in our cause. Give me a few days to arrange everything. I will contact you. In the meantime I want you-" she corrected herself, "to ask of you, that you plead with the Hwatab to keep integration in high regard. This program must not fail. Should your fellow Atrians come here, I want them to find a united front. No one wants a global war."

Drake was confused and he saw his friend was too. Yet, Roman asked nothing, so Drake put on his best pokerface and the boys left the office after that.

Outside, in the hallway, he took Taylor's hand and pulled her with him until they were out of range from any eyes or ears.

He was the first one to speak. "What did she mean by our fellow Atrians coming here?"

As he expected, Taylor piped in, saying: "Oh, I thought you knew. Saroya told me what the beacon was for. Your ship wasn't the only one. Others are still out there and now they know where to go."

"Roman?" He looked at his friend. Did he know?

Roman sighed. "Jesytur came to speak with the Hwatab yesterday, I was there. This was one of the things we talked about. If the ships got the signal, they could be here in seven months."

"Why didn't you say anything. You looked as surprised as I was."

"I was surprised Gloria knew. We decided to keep it to ourselves for now. But when the humans know ... perhaps it is better to let everyone know. We should all be prepared."

"I'm sorry", Taylor looked very guilty. "I didn't know it should have been a secret."

Roman beat Drake in reassuring his girl, who looked every bit the perfect picture he saw on his first day at Marshall High. "It's alright. I'm actually glad it won't be a secret. There have been too many secrets in the past ten years. I plan to change that."

Since Roman was no longer a carefree sixteen year old, he soon after left them and returned to the Sector. Leaving Drake and Taylor alone in the building they quickly vacated.

"So," Taylor began, after they walked in silence for a while. "My parents think you are a hero."

"What? Did you tell them? I thought we would wait a while till things calmed down."

"You calm down. Of course I didn't tell them yet. But they saw the news. Didn't you know? A big, handsome Atrian apparently saved the life of that Montrose boy."

Her radiant smile eased all his worries immediately and as her words sunk in, he grimaced. Grayson's dad must have loved that news.

Almost as if she read his mind, Taylor continued: "He got his father to promise to call his Red dogs off. Although I wouldn't mind meeting one right now. I feel so alive, I think I can break down a wall if I wanted to."

At that he laughed out loud and swung an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and slowly they strolled down the streets of Edendale, until he realized they were meant to keep their relationship a secret and quickly let her go.

"Awn." Taylor pouted, but then nodded. "Not yet. Right. So. By the way, how can I contact you? Should I just come to the gate and ask for you? Or should I hike along with Emery?"

Lifting his head, instantly feeling better, he replied: "Oh, Roman got Gloria to arrange for the Atrians to be allowed to have phones. It was a stupid edict anyway and didn't stop the Trags, so we'll probably hear something about it in the next few days."

"Oh, that is amazing. That will be so much easier. And what about your mom, can she come back now?"

He nodded. "She can, I just don't know if she wants to."

"Oh I think she will, she really hated being apart from you. You are all she has left."

"Yeah. I don't remember much about my dad. He was away most of the time when we were on Atria and she told me he was one of the victims who was shot on arrival day."

It took him a few steps to realize that Taylor was no longer beside him. He looked back and saw her standing with a difficult expression.

"What's wrong?"

An instant smile appeared on her face as she darted back to his side and said with too much enthusiasm: "Oh no, nothing. I eh... I didn't know. I'm really sorry. You told me, before the memorial, how you lost half your tribe. I didn't realize your father was among them."

They walked on, both deep in thought, until they came to a crossing where their paths led in opposite directions. He hoped his eyes conveyed what he could not say out loud, but in her eyes he could read the same message.

Gloria 'd better hurry up with that revoking. Roman could call him a sap for all he cared, he would be missing his peppy blonde every second they were apart.

\---

As Taylor walked home, looking over her shoulder every few steps, until she could not see Drake's broad shoulders anymore, she thought about why Saroya had told her son a lie about his father. Or did she lie to her? But than again, why? What would it matter to her how Drake's dad was killed? Nevertheless it was not something she should meddle in. If she ever saw Saroya again, and she thought she would, she would ask.

Her mother was glad she came home, but after dinner, she left the house again. It was not as if she never did that before the blast, but her parents were a little more anxious since she went missing.

"I promise not to get lost between here and the Bug, alright. But just because I got lost, which was so stupid, it doesn't mean anything else will happen, alright. Besides, there is so much I have to catch up on. Did you know the terrorists are in jail now? We will be so much safer after all this."

She left her parents who were unable to stop her and found the others in their usual get together café. Stuffing herself once again with non-salty food that Lucas was kind enough to prepare especially for her, she listened to Eric and Julia telling their side of the story. She really did hope that her last words to her parents were true. It would be really amazing if she could sit here with Drake next to her.


	5. Chapter 5

The next few days brought all the changes they were expecting and more. Five members of the SEU were sent to the Crate after having their secret Atrian identities discovered. Grayson was ensured by his father that the hate-thing for all things Atrian would end. It didn't mean that they would be friends from now on and all lived happily ever after. There were still a lot of hard feelings going around, but the terrorist acts would stop. At least, as far at mr. Montrose was concerned.

Gloria stepped down, giving a speech about how she wanted to devote more of her time to Edendale Springs, which was revealed in a grand promotional set up. Taking her place was Jefferson, a young man whose enthusiasm seemed to be genuine. Time would tell.

From Drake Taylor heard that the Hwatab and Roman had announced the true purpose of the beacon and now the whole Sector was buzzing with expectation. Of course, even if any Atrians out there would have seen the signal, it would take so long for them to reach Earth, the initial buzz would be long gone by then.

The best thing for her was the allowance of cellphones within the Sector. Everyone was sure that the cops were keeping tabs. Anything suspicious said or texted would surely invite a search party. Yet, for normal conversations, setting times and places for meetings, it proved perfect.

School began the first Monday after Mardi Gras and there was a lot of catching up to do. Hostilities however were hardly recognizable and the largest table in the cafeteria was now occupied by Atrians and humans.

The only person missing was Teri. Roman explained: "She was sent to the Crate with her mom and the rest, but because she was the one who sold them out, we think we can get her out pretty soon. I doubt if she will be going back to school, though."

"Hey", Julia asked, "now that integration seems to be moving forward, will new Atrians come to school?"

"Yes, that's the plan. The senior Trags at school that have been posing as humans have all been exposed and they are dealt with. We're going to ask for volunteers, see what comes of that. Perhaps begin with freshmen, as well."

That made Taylor think back to her first year. How would these new kids handle that? It had been a good idea of the integration program to let the seven start as juniors.

After a few minutes of random chat, Drake slammed his fist on the table, which made her jump.

"I'm having a party at my place after school, you're all invited."

It was so uncharacteristic for Drake that everyone, including her, was staring at him with wide open eyes.

"What? I can't have a party? It's my birthday today and Atrians don't usually celebrate, but I thought we could all use a party, right?"

People were still blinking, but Taylor picked her chin up from the floor and waved her hands in the air, really agitated. "Your birthday, why didn't you say so before? I have to go shopping for a present. And my clothes, I have to go change. Right after school? You big lump of no brain, you should have said something!"

Drake plucked her hands out of the air and held them tight as he said, close to her face: "You look fine, and I don't need a present, just come, alright?"

For a moment she thought he was going to kiss her and her heart fluttered. But then Emery piped in with an: "Of course we'll come", and she quickly leaned back. Kids at school were probably already gossiping, she didn't care about that. As long as nobody told her parents just yet.

"Why don't Atrians celebrate their birthday?" Julia asked.

Taylor concentrated on getting her breathing back under control and looked sceptically at her outfit. Of course she made sure every day she looked impeccable, so she would not be a total disaster. Still, she would have liked to wear something special for her first visit ever to a pod. Especially Drake's pod. She would see his inside home for the first time. Thoughts about their conversation about where the baby would live flew through her head and her face flushed when she remembered having called it a jail.

And no present? Perhaps she could skip PE and go shopping. PE wasn't a good idea anyway right now. Last week she broke a racket. And what if someone hit her stomach with a ball.

She almost missed Drake's answer.

"On Atria a birthday was celebrated with family and close friends during a ritual that involved a tree that was planted at ones birth. Since we couldn't do that here, birthdays have become a bit of a bad remembrance of what we lost."

"Perhaps, when you move to Edendale Springs, that tradition could be reinstated", Emery said.

No Atrian replied to that, and even Roman looked away.

The bell rang just then, preventing Taylor from asking what was wrong. She smiled at Drake before he walked away to a class she didn't take, but her smile fell when her mind took her back to the question of what she could possibly get him for his birthday.

Skipping PE wasn't hard, figuring out what to buy was and she only had an hour. She had almost given up after searching through every store that would even remotely interest him. Clothing was boring, tech probably prohibited, stupid gadgets were ... well, stupid. There was only one shop left and she had already received two texts from him, asking where she was.

The last shop was an antique and with absolutely no hope whatsoever, she walked inside and looked around. What a junk.

Without really seeing anything, she quickly walked around the store, until her eye suddenly caught something that made her stop.

She texted Drake that she was coming and drove her new car to the front gate of the Sector. The gate was open. There were guards and she had to register who she was going to see and promise to be gone by curfew, but otherwise she could walk in without any trouble. That is, the only trouble was that she had no idea where she was supposed to go. Why wasn't Drake here to pick her up?

She took her phone and was about to call him, when someone called her name.

"Taylor?"

She looked around and laughed out loud when she saw who it was. "Saroya. You came back. Drake will be so happy."

A hug she didn't expect caught her off guard, but she was thankful the woman still held her in high regard. Whatever her own parents would think, at least one mother was glad with her kid's choice.

"I went to the pod, but he wasn't there, I thought you would know."

"He wasn't? But we were suppose to go there after school. He is giving a party, for his birthday."

"A party? But ..."

"Yeah, he told us about how you don't really celebrate birthday's here, but he figured we could use a party. School is out, right? What time is it? I didn't really check ... oh." Taylor held her phone up close to her face, as if she could see the time better that way.

"Did I really walk through all those shops in just under an hour? I knew I had super strength, I didn't know I also had super speed."

Saroya laughed at that. "Come, we'll go to the pod and wait for him there. Knowing Drake, we probably have some cleaning up to do."

She was right. Drake's idea of having a party must have been totally spur of the moment, because there was nothing to eat and a lot to clean up.

"Oh boy. Is this what living with him is going to be like?" Taylor sighed.

"It's my fault. I was not here to teach him." Saroya looked at he floor, that had probably never seen a mob.

Taylor placed a hand on her arm. "No, it wasn't your fault. Blame Castor for taking you away from here. If he were still alive we would have him clean this place with his toothbrush."

A smile reappeared on Saroya's face and determination replaced sadness. "Right. It's too bad we'll have to do it ourselves. I will go get food and drinks and you just ... throw everything in his bedroom. He can sort it out later."

After Saroya left, Taylor took a moment to stare. This was Drake's childhood, right here. Living in this pod, since he was six. On his own the last eight or nine years. She felt tears coming up so she quickly began picking up stuff from the floor. Mostly pieces of clothing. At least Drake knew how to wash, he always smelled so good. When she found his bedroom, she bit her lip. Having hurried sex in forbidden places had been exciting, but what she really wanted was to take it slow and wake up beside him. Right here. She walked in and let her fingers slide over the ruffled sheets. A noise from behind startled her and when she turned around, Drake stood there, in the door opening. The look on his face told her everything she wanted to know and dropping the clothes she was holding, she ran the few steps to him. His arms lifted her up and his lips were on hers and he was devouring her until there was no more breath in her lungs.

She pushed against his chest a little until she could gasp: "You may have two sets of lungs, I only have one pair. Give me a minute."

His low, rumbling laugh against the base of her neck made her shiver, but before they could continue, a voice from behind separated them.

"Can't leave you two alone for even a minute, can I?"

"Mom?" Drake released his girl, stared half a second at the laughing woman now before him and than gave her a bear hug that almost knocked her of her feet.

Taylor couldn't help herself and had to wipe new tears from her cheeks.

"Drake," his mother chided him, "what were you thinking, inviting people over in this mess."

"I came early, to clean up. It was kind of a sudden thing. I just felt like we should have a celebration." He shrugged and Taylor could not help but laugh. Drake looked over his shoulder at her with that sweet smile of his and her heart melted. He may not be the best housekeeper, but she sure liked this carefree version of the big brute.

"When did you come back?"

They walked into the main area and his mother moved the food she got from the table to the kitchen. "Just now, I figured you were still at school when I found the pod empty and then I saw Taylor wondering around. We thought we'd best clean up a bit before your guests arrive."

Drake ducked his head a little when his mom threw him a warning glance.

"I didn't know how many people you invited, do you think this is enough?" She gestured at the counter and Taylor felt her stomach rumble when she saw the food. Mostly fruit and all kinds of nuts and seeds and bread. Bushes of herbs and flowers were also included. Taylor broke of a white flower and stuck it into her hair. When Drake turned her way, he burst out laughing. "Are you planning to wear the apples too?"

He plucked the flower out of her hair, took a bite of one of the petals and held it in front of her mouth. Without thinking, she took a bite. "Mmm, this tastes ... tastes like ... I don't know. I tastes good. I didn't know you could eat flowers."

"Here, you sit down, you're a guest. I will clean up. Mom?"

"Yes, yes, I'll prepare the food. I'm sure I can remember how to do that after eight years."

With the flower still in her hand, eating petal by petal, Taylor's eyes followed Drake swooping through the pod, picking up stuff and throwing it in his bedroom. He seemed excited, happy, at ease. So different. Which reminded her all of a sudden of the inconsistency in the story about his father. Should she ask Saroya now? No, better to wait after the party, she didn't want to spoil anything. Perhaps it was all a big misunderstanding and she just didn't get it right. That would not have been a first.

About fifteen minutes later, the rest of the gang knocked on the door. Roman and Emery, Eric and Julia, Sophia with Lucas trailing behind her. The other kids from the Atrian seven, except Teri, of course. Two boys and a girl, she kept on forgetting their names. Maia was also there, bearing a trey of food. She greeted Saroya with honest gladness and both mothers shared a laugh about the lack of supplies Drake had when inviting for a party.

Taylor was very curious about the rituals Atrians had in celebrating a birthday. The kids didn't seem to have any special kind of greeting, other than saying happy birthday, but Maia placed her hand on Drakes head, with some effort. She spoke a few soft words in Sondiv and then stepped aside to allow Saroya to take her place. Taylor stood up from her seat, understanding that this was a special moment. She wanted to learn everything about these kind of customs. After all she would have to perform them for their child one day.

Saroya placed both hands on top of Drake's head, then lowered them to cover his hearts and at last placed one of her hands on her own chest. "I will speak in English, for your guests. Drake, seventeen years ago, I held you in my arms for the first time. You were so small, but you were strong. I watched you grow, not as long as I'd liked, but I am proud, so proud of the man you have become. For your father and for all of the Vwasak who cannot be here today, I wish you health and a long life. Good sense to guide you and joy to fill your hearts." With those words she pulled him down and kissed him on his forehead.

Drake whispered: "_Asoluviv_."

Did that mean thank you? Maybe she should learn the language too.

Apparently that was all the ceremony there was, no one gave gifts, they just sat down on the shallow couch and few chairs that were there. Not even enough for all to be seated, so the rest just sat on the ground. The food was placed on the small table in the middle of the room and easy chattering erupted from all corners, while they ate.

Drake sat down on the floor at her feet and she leaned over and said: "That was so sweet. You will have to teach me the whole ritual one day. With the tree-planting stuff and all."

The look he gave her, made her heart fly, but Roman asked for Drakes attention before he could reply to her, so she just chatted with Sophia, who sat next to her.

"You know, this is my first birthday party ever. Is it very different among your kind?" Roman's sister asked.

"Not so much, I guess. Parents saying how proud they are, friends, food, drink. Pretty much the same. Only no presents, don't you do presents?"

Sophia frowned. "I think we do, but I'm not sure. I can only remember a little bit from my time on Atria. I was only five when we left. I remember something about a necklace that I was given, with engravings on it from our tribe. But I lost it in the crash."

It was a nice afternoon. For as far as a party she attended usually goes, it was pretty lame, but Taylor found she actually quite enjoyed the easy talking and laughing with a sincere little group of friends. After a while she and Drake didn't try to hide their affection any more and she left it to Roman to answer the whispered questions.

Right before curfew - the others already left an half hour ago, while Drake was taking out the trash - Taylor walked up to Saroya, who was doing the dishes and picking up a towel, she asked: "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure", Saroya smiled at her and placed a clean dripping cup on the sink, which Taylor picked up to dry.

"You told me Drake's dad was shot right befóre the crash. Does Drake know?"

Saroya's hands stopped mid-air. Her eyes flew to the door and then back to Taylor. "Did ... did you tell him?"

"No, no", Taylor hurriedly said. "I thought I asked you about it first. Drake told me his father died during the fighting after the crash. Why didn't you tell him?"

A deep sigh left the blond womans lips. "When we were brought into the Sector, Castor told everyone I was responsible for the crash, but that it was an accident. Nobody did anything to me, but they all blamed me. Drake was so young, he wouldn't have understood. I waited for two years, till everything was settled and the Hwatab and Nox had a form of government set up. Somehow Castor found out I had the mirzan and set me up. I was sent to the Crate and because no one knew Castor had killed his father before the crash, Drake was simply told he was a casualty on arrival day. Which was the truth, just not in the way he thought."

Taylor wanted to ask another question, but Drake's low voice, filled with sadness, beat her to it.

"Why didn't you tell me when you got back?"

Saroya was startled and almost dropped a bowl. She turned around slowly and looked at her son with tears in her eyes.

"Drake, I am so sorry. When I got back, and found out Castor was Iksen, there was no way I could tell you. Without the mirzan and the proof that it held, no one would believe me."

"I would."

"I know, and you would have killed Castor for it and would have been sent to the Crate as well. I couldn't let that happen." She dried her hands and walked over to her son. "After that, everything happened so fast. We were in danger, the whole of Edendale was in danger and then we were apart again."

"Would you have told me?"

"Of course. One of these days I would have set you down and told you everything I remembered from that day. We can do that right now, if you want."

Taylor wrinkled her brow and softly coughed. Both mother and son turned to her and Drake sighed. "After I bring Taylor home. Then we'll talk."

Saroya gave him a watery smile and walked to Taylor to give her a hug. "Thank you", she whispered, "for bringing joy to my sons life."


	6. Chapter 6

Still glowing inside from the hug and sweet words Saroya had given her, Taylor walked beside Drake to the gate. It was getting late and her parents had already called twice. Perhaps they shouldn't have done this on a Monday evening.

Suddenly she remembered the reason she skipped the last class and she stopped. She rummaged through her bag. It wasn't so big, but all of a sudden her hands were shaking. What if he thought it was dumb. Or maybe it was an insult on Atria. Her hands stopped for a second.

Drake had stopped as well and was looking at her, she saw when she glanced his way a second. Oh well, what the heck, if he didn't like it, she would take it back.

"I uhm... I have something for you. That was what I was doing, when I was away, during PE. Not such a good idea for me right now, PE." She laughed a bit, copying Drake's grin.

"I had no idea what to get you and I know you said I didn't have to get anything, but I'm human and we humans give each other presents, so I searched all of Edendale and ... well, I found this."

With a sigh she pulled out a box and handed it over to him with a flourish. The smile Drake then gave her made her knees all mushy and no longer concerned whether he would like it or not, she watched him unpack.

It was a bracelet. Broad and rough like him, made of dark brown leather. But what had really caught her attention were the markings engraved in them. They had looked so much like Sondiv letters, that she immediately knew it was the perfect gift. At least, that's what she hoped. Looking a Drake's, now troubled expression, she wasn't so sure anymore.

"Where did you find this?"

"Uhm, in an antique shop in town. Do ... do you like it? It reminded me of the Atrian language, you know. The ... the markings."

"This is Sondiv. It says: eternal. It's an ... uh, it's a promise band."

Did he blush? She had never seen the tall, warrior Artian blush before and it made here press her lips together to swallow a giggle.

"What's a promise band?"

Drake's lips moved, like he was searching for words and after a few minutes, he finally answered, never looking at her: "On Atria, it's a custom, when two people want to share their life together, to give each other a promise band. The name is written on the inside." He flipped the bracelet over and pointed to some scribbles inside. "It says Delem.

Heat rose to her face, as she began to understand what she had given Drake. It was probably a lucky thing that there was already a name inside. Because even though she had thought about living with Drake and their baby in Edendale Springs, something as real and binding as this bracelet represents had never before crossed her mind. She was only sixteen for goodness sakes.

"I did not know that", she said, a little prudish. "But I guess it is a good thing than that there already is a name inside. We can give it back."

She thought for a minute a look of disappointment crossed Drake's face, but that was probably just about him not getting a present after all. Yes, that must have been it.

She placed a hand on his arm and said gently: "I will find you something else."

His expression, as he looked down on her, was puzzled, but then he nodded and a second later shook his head. "No, you don't have to. The gesture was enough. Thank you." He kissed her, but it was a swift kiss and even though he smiled, she could not help but think something was the matter.

The sound of the alarm telling them that curfew was only ten minutes away, halted the conversation and Drake took her hand and pulled her towards the gate. They said a quick goodbye and she waved as she drove away, leaving him standing behind the fence. It looked awful. Even though the Atrians had a lot more freedom now than a year ago, it still looked like a prison.

\---

When Taylor's car was out of site, Drake hurried back to his pod. He was just inside when the second alarm announced curfew. He wondered how long before that would be abolished.

Inside, his mother was walking around, picking stuff up, rearranging furniture. He stood looking at her a little while and then cleared his throat. It startled her.

For a minute or so they just stood there, staring at each other, then Saroya's shoulders slumped and with tears brimming, she said again: "I am so sorry Drake, for not telling you the truth about your father."

He waved a hand, grabbed a drink from the little kitchen and lumped down on the couch. "It's alright, I understand. You were right, I would have killed Castor. I guess I should thank Teri when I see her next."

Saroya sat beside him and began to tell the story. "Your father and I were not married. I am not sure anyone knew that you were his son. He was of a different tribe and both our parents felt that, with us leaving our home world behind, we should stick with our own. Of course, when we crash-landed here on Earth, it didn't really matter anymore what tribe we were in. There were so few of us left. We could have been together here, as a real family, if not for ..."

She sniffed, scrunched her face for a second and then relaxed again. "I was his co-pilot, you were safely inside a cabin with Roman and his parents. When we reached Earth and saw it was inhabited, your father ordered me to lay in a new course, but Castor came in. There had been some unrest already, because we had been traveling for months and some believed we should just take the world in front of us and deal with the inhabitants who were so far behind in technology that they would not be a threat. Your father didn't want to take that risk and I agreed, so did Nox and the elders. When Castor shot him, he took the pilot seat. I could not openly go against him because he still had the weapon. From my control station I tried to overrule the orders Castor entered into the system, but something went wrong. He caught on to me, tried to shoot me, but missed and hit the panel instead. We no longer had control over the ship and I ran to you."

She paused for a minute, breathing hard, fighting new tears. Drake grabbed her hand and squeezed it. All this time, everybody blamed her and the pilot for the crash and all this time she could not tell a living soul how much she had actually lost.

With a sob she continued: "When we were put into the Sector, all deceased were gathered. I'm not sure if they were buried or burned, but I never saw your father again."

When she was finished telling the secret that must have been pressing on her for so long, they sat in silence until the sky was completely dark and all was silent around them.

His hands were toying with the bracelet Taylor had so ignorantly given him. It had meant nothing to her, just an ornament she thought he would like. He almost wished it had been. He kept forgetting that even though they were the same age, human girls of sixteen were not nearly mature enough to think about anything remotely like a marriage. Why oh why did he had to fall in love with a girl of such a primitive world?

"What do you have there?"

He looked up and saw his mother eying the bracelet.

"Oh, uhm... Taylor found it in an antique shop. Apparently some human found it on arrival day and thought to make some money with it. She uh... gave it to me, for my birthday."

"Is that a promise band?"

"Yeah, but she didn't know what it was. It has a name inside, Delem, do you know him?"

Saroya turned white. Not just a little bit pale, but completely devoid of color. For a moment he thought she would pass out, but then her shaking hand reached for the bracelet and took it from him. Her voice was barely audible and he had to strain to hear the words and even then he was sure he misunderstood. It was simply not possible. There was no way this many coincidences happened at the same time to come to this, one, unimaginable outcome. He must have heard wrong, read the letters wrong, anything.

But his mothers words echoed into his soul and as ridiculous as it may have seemed, he knew they were true.

\---

When Taylor got home and received a lecture about being late on a school night, she knew time had not yet come to tell her parents about her pregnancy.

How was it that Drake and Roman and even Sophia seemed to be able to do as they pleased, with no one to tell them how to live, and she was still treated like a child? Was that a human thing? They did say that Atrians matured faster. Did that mean that Drake with his seventeen years, was in fact much older than she was? Then what in the world was he doing in High School?

She lay awake for a long time in her large room with her large bed. Drake's whole pod probably fitted inside her room. Every time she thought about the bracelet, her cheeks flushed. Maybe they should have a conversation about expectations somewhere soon.

But what were her expectations? Saroya had told her an Atrian pregnancy lasted only a little over eight human months, but the baby would be further along in it's development. The dyret herbs helped her against the obvious pregnancy perils such as nausea, and the DNA of the child growing within her strengthened her body. 'All women of my tribe get stronger during pregnancy', wasn't that what Drake had said? So was she a woman of his tribe now? Did she want to be?

She grabbed her phone, activated it, stared at it for a few seconds and put it down again.

She could not go see a doctor. Maybe an Atrian one? How had Gloria done all this?

She picked up her phone again, saw the time and threw it on the floor where a soft, long pile carpet lay. The floor in Drake's pod had looked like the school entrance on a rainy winters day. But that was probably because his mom had been away.

'I'm gonna figure this out', he had said, 'we're gonna work something out.' She had to believe in those words or she was toast.

The Conversation they had when she just told him she was pregnant, played through her mind. It was very clear that the idea of getting rid of the baby never occurred to him and after a while she got so used to the idea that the whole notion of destroying the life inside her made her sick. Telling Gloria that she had not been sure if she was going to keep it had been a lie. Her own insecurity speaking.

Her hands covered her flat stomach. She could never get rid of this precious little piece of Drake and hers. The proof that their attraction went far beyond physical. 'It's not about us being together or not, anymore', Drake had said. How true that was.

Alright, if he was more mature than she was, than she had to proof she could be equally mature. She was a woman after all.

The next morning, it took her just a few seconds to remember what she had agreed with herself. She got up without hitting the snooze button once, got dressed, applied her make-up and walked downstairs startling her parents.

"Fell out of bed?" her father jested.

"Good morning to you too. No, I've simply decided that I need to act like an adult, since I am a junior and High School will be over before you know it. I have to start planning my life and be a grown-up." She ignored the mouth-wide-open stares her parents gave her and sat down to breakfast.

Yes, this was a very good idea. They would see that she was in charge of her own life, that she could handle her own affairs and that included a pregnancy.

The bus that brought the Atrians to and from school every day, was not yet standing by the entrance, so she parked her car and walked inside. To her surprise, Gloria was there, talking to the school principal. They stopped as she walked in.

"Taylor, good to see you, do you have a minute? Can we use your office?" Gloria asked the principal, who nodded.

Inside the office, Gloria took the seat behind the desk and gestured towards the stools in front of it. "How are you?"

It was a fairly simple question, but Taylor knew that Gloria would not be satisfied with a simple 'fine'.

"I'm handling it. We are handling it." she replied instead.

"By we, I reckon you mean yourself and Drake?"

"Yes, he is very supportive, as is his mother."

Gloria nodded, not showing any surprise. "Have you told your parents yet?"

"No, not yet. I wanted to wait till things calmed down a bit. And also show them I am capable of dealing with it", Taylor said with her chin up.

"Can you?"

There was a slight ring of a challenge in those words and she swallowed her initial response. Defiance would not help her here. "We will have to. We haven't worked out all the details yet and we both know it will be very difficult. For all the world is concerned, this is the first human-Atrian pregnancy and everybody will probably have to say something about it. But it is up to us to deal with it and we will."

It was the right answer, she could see it in Gloria's face that softened just a little. That helped her in saying the next words. "I need your help. I need to know what to expect. Saroya has told me about the Atrian part and I know enough about the human stuff, but how those two connect ... only you can tell me."

Gloria placed her elbows on the desk between them and sighed. "A pregnancy is never easy, human or Atrian. Nox was of a different tribe, so I am not sure it will be exactly the same. Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary yet?"

Taylor looked over the things on the desk, picked up a pen and with very little effort, snapped it in half. "Apparently, I am Wonder Woman now."

Gloria's eyebrows shot up and with a little laugh, she shook her head.

"The dyret helps, I feel amazing. No nausea, no aches, nothing, except for the glowing tears thing and the extra strength. I thought it better to skip PE for the time being."

"Yes, that might be a good idea. Also, even though it will probably not kill you, I would advice you to stay away from the things Atrians are allergic to, like cilantro and caffeine. You've probably also already discovered a hypersensitivity to salt."

"Yes, and I have to drink at least two gallons of water every day."

"Very good. Now, for the outward part. You won't start showing until halfway the pregnancy, that is around four months. The first four are used to construct the brain and synaptic system in the childs body. Including all the hormones and substances that make up their physiology. The markings and what makes them glow in water, the healing abilities. You benefit from those as well.

"After everything is in place, the child begins to grow and that happens at an alarming rate. You will see the difference every day, until the child is ready to be born."

"Great", mumbled Taylor. "Well, at least I have some time before I will have to tell anyone."

"I suggest you do that way before then and make preparations. For the time being, I would even go as far as to suggest you go and life with Drake and his mother inside the Sector, since that is far more secured than your place."

"But Grayson ensured his dad would no longer influence the Red Hawks to aggression."

"Grayson might have done that and it has sure been a lot more peaceful in the streets since, but Mr. Montrose doesn't control the media. You wouldn't want reporters camping on your lawn now, would you? They are not allowed inside the Sector, nor inside the school. You will be able to finish High School safely."

Living in the Sector? With Drake? Up until now, those very scarce thoughts she had about living with the baby had always included a house. Like those in Edendale Springs. Living in a pod, looking like a whale, surrounded by nothing but Atrians had not been anything her head could even come up with. Now she couldn't get rid of the picture anymore.

It's not a jail, it's not a jail, she kept repeating to herself.

There was just one more thing she needed to know. "And what about the uh... when I have to actually push this baby out? I can't go to the hospital, can I?"

"I couldn't. My mother was there to help me. Nox had assured me that Atrian pregnancies almost never go wrong. They are swift and best done in water. Of course I have no comparison material with how it goes with a human pregnancy, only from hear say. But my mother ensured me it was a walk in the park compared to her own deliveries. For you, however, you will be pregnant before the eyes of the world. You will get to choose whether you want to deliver in the hospital, and we will make sure you are completely safe there, or in the Sector, like all Atrian women do."

Taylor decided not to comment on the fact that she was no Atrian woman. For the time being she would have to accept the fact that she kind of was, right now.

She sat up straight, clasped her hands together and said: "Right, well, I still have some time to think that over. According to my calculation, I couldn't be more than a month along, so," she stood up, "thank you, for all your help. I am really grateful for it."

Gloria's face softened. "You're welcome. Come to me whenever you need something. I may not be in charge of integration anymore, I still have some influence. I will help you where I can. Eventually my own future with my son depends on how well the world will react to your pregnancy."

Taylor left the office, not at all comforted by those last words. What if the world hated her for it? 


	7. Chapter 7

Drake didn't go to school that morning. He told Roman he had to do something first and left to find the antique shop where Taylor had bought the bracelet. It didn't take him long to locate it but when he did, the store was closed. It wouldn't open for another hour, but he couldn't wait that long. So he rang the bell and when nothing happened, knocked on the door as polite as he could master. After a few more pounces, a very disgruntled old man walked up to the door. He stopped dead in his tracks when he recognized his visitor.

"Go away. I am closed."

"I need to talk to you", Drake shouted back, banging on the door again.

"Go away, or I'll call the cops."

Drake took a deep breath, stepped back a little, opened his hand to show the bracelet and asked: "Please, I have to know where you got this. You don't have to open the door, just tell me how this ended up in your store."

With suspicion still written all over his face, the shop owner came closer. Drake held the promise band up against the window and saw recognition appear in the mans eyes.

"I sold that yesterday."

"Yes, how did you get it in the first place. This is Atrian."

The mans eyes narrowed. "Are you sure?"

"This was my fathers!" Drake shouted, his voice broke on that last word. "Please, I have to know how you got this."

The look of suspicion diminished a bit and the man took another step to take a closer look. "I thought perhaps it might be Atrian, but I wasn't sure, so I just left it here. A lot of the things I sell here come from old magazines where they store scrap that has been recovered from crash sites or evicted houses. After a while nobody cares what happens to the stuff anymore, so I have a contact that lets me snoop around. I guess all the things they found on arrival day also were sent there."

Drake's shoulders slumped. This wasn't what he had hoped for. "Can you tell me where this magazine is?"

"It's one of those big facilities on a military terrain near Baton Rouge, you'll have to go to the cops for more information." He said it as if he believed the Atrian would never do that.

Drake's mind reeled. So it was possible a whole lot more of his people's belongings were being held somewhere close by. Just out of reach of its owners. He would ask that new guy, Jefferson. It would be a nice test to see just how much influence their new liaison had.

Figuring there was no more the shop owner could tell him about this particular item, Drake nodded once and departed. He would talk to Roman. As the new Iksen, he could pull a few strings.

Taylor greeted him in the schoolcafeteria, concern on her pretty face. He was quick to reassure her. "Everything 's fine, I just had to take care of something."

"Of what?"

He wanted to wave away the question, but when he saw her face, he thought better and softly replied: "I went to see the shop owner where you bought the promise band. He told me where he got it. Apparently there is a magazine full of stuff they picked up on arrival day."

Her eyes bulged. "Why haven't they given it back yet?"

"Probably because they think that half of it are bombs and weapons."

Taylor pursed her lips. "Hey, did you find that Dolem guy?"

"Delem ..." Drake's hand covered the bracelet he now wore under his sleeve. "No, I haven't found him yet. I think ... he might not be alive anymore."

"Oh, that's a shame. And what about the one who gave it to him? Is she still around? Can you find out?"

His thoughts about the troubling conversation he had with his mother made it difficult to keep replying to Taylor's questions. "Uhm... no, yes, I will give it to her, soon. First I have to find Roman."

The young Iksen was found near the lockers, talking to Emery. For a moment the thought crossed his mind whether his friend had also been intimate with a human yet, or if Roman was too much of a gentleman for that to happen so soon. He quickly pushed the thought out of his brain. It was none of his business anyway and he had bigger worries to think about.

"Roman, I need to talk to you."

They found a quiet spot, away from the busy hallway and Drake told them what he had found out.

"Can you talk to that Jefferson guy? I'll bet there is a lot more stuff over there that belongs to us."

"Yes, I will talk to him. I wonder if even the Hwatab know about this. What did you say the name in the promise band was?"

A little reserved, Drake said: "Delem."

"The name rings a bell, but I don't think I know him. I will ask the elders."

"No, that's alright. My mom knew, she said he ... died. So, don't bother, alright?"

All three of his listeners looked at him with similar expressions after his outburst, and he quickly changed the subject. "Do we know of any progress about us being freed from the Sector?"

It worked, even though the look Taylor gave him ensured him she would revisit the subject later on. That was okay. He didn't really want to keep secrets for her anymore. The last time he did that, she almost ended up dead.

Roman talked about how there were plans to allow an initial group of fifty families to move into the finished houses in Edendale Springs soon, until the bell rang.

During Biology, Taylor leaned over to him and asked: "If Atrians mature faster than humans, why is it that you are still in High School?

Other were listening as well, so he simply replied: "It's your human rules, blondie, not ours."

He saw she had to fight back a smile at his use of the word blondie and smiled as well. But when she hit him on his arm, it actually hurt him. "Ow."

For a moment there was a bit of fear in her eyes, but she quickly laughed it away and concentrated on her work. He watched her a while, seeing how she took extra care not to break anything. It was kind of endearing, but he was also strangely proud that her being pregnant of his child, made her so much more like him. Taylor had always been a force to be reckoned with, now she was truly invincible.

After school they split up, Taylor wanted some girl time and chose Emery and Sophia as her subjects and Drake accompanied Roman back to the Sector where he knew Jefferson would be.

They found the man talking to some Atrians. Up till now he genuinely proved involved in their wellbeing. The request they were about to make of him would prove how much he was willing to do.

"Jefferson, can we have a word?"

"Iksen, _Alyakson_. What can I do for you?"

Roman greeted the man back and excused them with the bystanders. When he was sure no one could overhear them, he asked: "How much do you know about a magazine full of stuff found on arrival day?"

Jefferson seemed confused for a second, then his eyes lit up. "The warehouse at the military base. Yes. But I was ensured that the only things that are kept there, are useless items. Everything that came from the ship has been stored in a high security facility upstate."

"Useless to you, maybe. Those items should be returned to us. Some of it has sentimental value."

"Of course, I agree and will see to it immediately. May I ask how you came by this information?"

Roman looked at Drake, so he explained: "The owner of the antique shop in town has access. A ... friend of mine bought something there that was Atrian."

"Hmm, that should not be possible. Leave it to me, I will make sure all things that can be returned, will be returned."

The answer was not entirely satisfying, but for now it would do. Access to the ship would probably be prohibited for as long as humans thought Atrians could pose a threat. He wondered if they would ever try to break it down or remove it. Shutting it down had proved to be impossible, for the humans, that was. At least none of the humans never found out the ship could cause a hurricane.

\---

Shopping was not on Taylor's list, but Emery wanted to get something for Grayson, since he was still in the hospital, recovering.

"Hey, can we go to that antique shop? Perhaps Sophia can spot some more Atrian things, than we can bring it back to the Sector. It will be a sign of goodwill."

Emery, as always trying to get on the Atrians good side. Taylor didn't envy her position. Daughter of the man who shot the Atrian leader, girlfriend of the one who was leading them now. Taylor doubted if that relationship would last, but, she wouldn't object. It took the heat away from herself and Drake, when their relationship finally came out in the open. It might be selfish, but it was what it was.

She led the way to the shop, along the way telling Sophia what they found out about the present she gave Drake. Sophia was a little shocked when she found out Taylor had given Drake a promise band, but when they thought about it some more, it suddenly seemed terribly hilarious.

They had to wipe tears from their eyes - very quickly, as far as Taylor was concerned - as they entered the shop.

There was no one in the store but them and the cabinets and shelves on the walls were filled with lots and lots of junk. Teapots, paintings, chandeliers, some books and a whole collection of jewelry were among the things they walked past. It wasn't until that last casing that Sophia gasped.

"That is Atrian, and that too." She pointed at a few items that indeed looked quite alien. Some necklaces had pendants in the shape of Sondiv letters. Taylor was sure the shop owner knew that very well. She felt how a slow anger was building up inside her about the little business that concealer was running here.

When the man finally appeared, a short, older man who looked at them with obvious distrust, she blew off: "These items don't belong to you. I demand you return them at once."

The man looked at her and then at the other girls, his eyebrows went up a notch when he saw Sophia's markings, but otherwise he remained excruciatingly calm.

"If you have proof these items belong to you, I am willing to discuss the matter, otherwise I suggest you leave my store."

His words managed to anger her even more. "These things are Atrian and unless you are an Atrian as well, they were stolen. Are you an Atrian?"

"No, obviously, just like yourself and miss Whitehill over here. Does any of the items you see here belong to your Atrian friend?"

Taylor felt her heart beating fast and her hands were balled into fists. The words of the man were friendly enough, but the way he spoke them mocked her.

Sophia, eyes open wide, shook her head. Emery seemed at a loss as well, but Taylor was not about to let it go.

"We know where you got them from, I bet it's even illegal for you to have them here. We will call the police and they will confiscate them."

The man was beginning to lose his patience. "And they will just put them in the same place as before. What is it to you? Are you one of those tattie-lovers? I reckon you are, seeing your company. Yesterday you had no qualms whatsoever buying Atrian items. Go ahead, call the police. You can't prove anything."

Taylor raised her arm and was about to slam into the showcase. Emery and Sophia both threw themselves on top of her and pulled her, with great effort, out of the store.

"Taylor, calm down. What were you going to do? Smash the place to bits? There's nothing we can do. We have to go to Roman."

"Puh, by the time he'll get here, that ... that concealer will have concealed them. We should have just taken them."

"Then he would have called the police himself. I don't like this any more than you, but he is right, we don't have proof. He may very well say they are replica's or something."

Taylor felt her adrenaline level drop and the ability to think straight slowly returned to her. The thought that she had almost committed a crime scared her a little and she quickly walked away from the hated site.

Emery had to run to catch up with her. "At least Roman and Drake will talk with Jefferson. I'm sure he will get the military to return the items. Perhaps even the ones in the store."

Sighing, Taylor slowed down. "Argh, why did that ship had to crash-land here in the first place. They could have just landed and say: hello, we are from the planet Atria, seeking refuge. Can you help us? But no, it turned into a bloody war with hate crimes on both sides and us as the victims." She pointed to all three of them. "Look at us, keeping our relationships a secret, being yelled at. Will it ever end?"

"Of course it will", Sophia was quick to reassure. "We have to believe it will. My dad saw it happening and I agree. Especially now. And who knows, perhaps your baby will prove to everybody that we're not so different and that we really can live together in peace."

Sophia's enthusiasm was endearing, but also naive.

The more Taylor thought about it, the more she believed Gloria was right about the Sector being the most safe place for her right now.

They found a present for Grayson in another shop and brought it to him. There was not much to talk about there, given the fact that the boy in the hospital wasn't in the loop of most of what was going on. It wasn't till after they left and found a spot in the back of the Mud Bug, that Emery asked: "Have you told your parents yet?"

"No, I don't know how. I figured I'd prove to them first that I could be a mature adult. This morning I was totally committed, but now I'm not so sure I can pull it of anymore. Gloria thinks I should move in with Drake."

"What? Why?"

"For my – our safety. There are still haters out there and media that will have a field day when they find out. Let alone people like Ms. Bennet and that creep Burke you told me about. They would want to dissect my baby and me as well probably. I would be safe in the Sector. With all the guards."

"But, what about the Trags? I know Vega and her close followers are gone, but still, not everyone is happy about their situations."

"Of course they are not. They are prisoners here." Saying it aloud made her feel guilty for ever having said a bad word about locking up Atrians. Now that she was faced with the same fate, it seemed totally inhumane.

Sophia placed a hand on hers and squeezed it, saying: "It's not that bad. We have everything we need and now that the restrictions are lessened, we can go where we want to."

"You still have curfew."

"Yes, but not for long. The guards in the streets have all but disappeared. It's already a lot pleasanter."

Taylor was distracted when her phone buzzed. "It's Drake."

She answered with a smile and told him where to find her. "They will have news about the Atrian stuff."

Roman wasn't with him and Taylor saw how Emery deflated when Drake walked up to them alone.

He gave her a quick kiss when no one around was watching. Oh, the day that they could walk hand in hand down the streets of Edendale. How she longed for that moment.

"And? Is Jefferson gonna help?"

"Yes, he said he would." He looked at her and softly said: "I need to talk to you."

A thrill moved through her body when he said those words. What did he want to talk about? About expectations? Was she ready for that talk? Had she figured out her own yet? The whole hour they sat in he Bug with their friends, talking about school and how they missed valentine's day, she worried about the coming conversation. Only to find that she had worried for nothing.

"I know who the bracelet belonged to", Drake said, after they had found a bench near her car. The wind was icy and even though she hardly felt the cold, she wasn't about to complain when Drake put his arm around her shoulders.

"Oh right, I knew there was something you weren't telling us before. Did you give it back?"

Drake didn't answer right away, so she looked at him more closely. His mouth was set in a troubling way, as if he tried very hard to stop his lips from trembling. Finally he almost whispered: "It belonged to my father."

Her mouth fell open. That ... that ... her mind couldn't even think of a reply, let alone her speech.

After a moment of shocked silence, Drake told her everything his mom had told him.

She was overjoyed he confided in her when it was obvious that he hadn't even told his best friend, but his last words caused her forehead to wrinkle.

"Nobody knows what happened to his body after the crash. I'm beginning to doubt whether he is even dead at all."

"But don't you think he would have contacted you by now, if he was alive?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe ... maybe he is in the Crate."

That possibility brought on another silence. What if he hadn't been burned or buried a long time ago, but was somewhere inside the very place they kept his mother in for eight years? Did anyone know exactly who was inside the Crate?

"Gloria, Gloria must know if he is there." Taylor took her phone out of her bag and scrolled to where she had entered Gloria's phone number. With her thumb hovering above the call button, she looked at Drake. Whose fragile expression made her pause.

"Shall I call?

His nod came swift and decisive, so she pressed her thumb down and held her phone up to her face.


	8. Chapter 8

"Taylor, how can I help you?"

Looking into the face of the woman who used to be in charge of all that had anything to do with integration, Taylor paused for a second and then asked: "Do you know who is in the Crate?"

Gloria's eyebrows formed a troubled V. "What do you mean?"

"I mean", Taylor hurried to explain, "do you know exactly who is in the Crate. All their names, I mean."

"Why are you asking me this?"

She looked sideways to Drake. How much did he want Gloria to know. They both had their secrets to keep, could they add one more?

"Who is there with you? Are you alright?"

Taylor frowned, why would Gloria ask her that? Oh, is she afraid she has been kidnapped for hostages? Quickly she extended her arm so that both she and Drake appeared in the little screen. Gloria visibly relaxed.

"We uhm... we found a bracelet, in the antique shop, a promise band. He had more Atrian stuff, which he stole from the magazine on the military base. But that's not the point and we already contacted Jefferson about that. But this bracelet, it has Drake's fathers name in it. Saroya said it had belonged to him, so we just wanted to know if he might ... well, if perhaps he wasn't dead, but in the Crate."

She could see the wheels inside Gloria's head turning. Would she know? And, more importantly, would she tell if she did? Drake's father wasn't a terrorist. If any, he was the one who had been shot by the terrorist.

"I am not aware Saroya had a husband that was missing." Gloria finally said.

"He was not her husband and she thinks he is dead." Drake spoke up, his face scrunched. "My father was the pilot who got shot by Castor."

The expression in Gloria's face turned from curious to shocked and then guarded. Did she know something? Yes, she did. "You know", Taylor said, sitting up straight. "You know who we mean, don't you?"

Beside her, Drake sat up to.

Gloria dampened their exhilaration. "No, I don't know anything until I checked. And as I am no longer in charge of affairs, I'm not sure I can help you with this. You should take it up with Jefferson."

"No, wait-"

"Good evening." She hung up.

Taylor stuffed her phone in her bag and turned towards an agitated Drake. "She knows something. And if there is something, we have hope." She took his hands in hers, quite a feet, but she managed, and said: "We'll find out. Don't worry. If he is alive, we will find him. Right now, I'm going to show you where I live."

Her sudden change of subject blanked Drakes expression for a second. "Uh... why?"

"So you know. I know you've been there at the pool party, but it was darker then and you came round back. I want you to see the front. It's not so far from the Sector, you can walk home. Can you drive a car?" She stood up, pulled him up, which only worked due to her Wonder Woman strength, and walked towards her car.

"Do I have to meet your parents?"

"No, not unless you want to give them a heart attack. Soon though. I have to tell them soon."

Drake's grip relaxed a tiny bit. He was probably wondering whether her father would shoot him for knocking up his daughter.

\---

The idea of his father possibly being alive had such an impact on his thoughts, that Drake only noticed Taylor had been talking to him, when she turned into a street with large houses and said: "There, we're here. Did you pay attention?"

Of course he didn't.

"Well, If you get lost, don't blame me. This is my house. Number seventy eight."

He looked outside her window and guffawed. He's seen the backyard and he'd been inside the Montrose mansion, but he hadn't completely realized Taylor moved in those same circles. What in the world was she doing with him?

She must have read something in his eyes, because she bit her lip and shrugged. "I know, not exactly a pod, but trust me when I say you have a lot more freedom inside the Sector than I have in this thing."

Somehow he found that hard to believe. Yet she still hadn't told her parents about him, so her relationship with her parents most be different than his with his mom. When telling his mother about Taylor, he hadn't felt anything even remotely like the nerves that obvious went through Taylor right now. Cages came in all shapes and sizes, apparently.

"Hey", he turned her head towards his and smiled. "If you want me to be there when you tell them, I will. I can handle it. We can go right now, If you want."

She gave him a little smile in return, but shook her head. "Give me a few days, alright?"

They got out of the car and he walked around to her side. He made sure no one was watching and kissed her deeply.

"Thank you", he whispered", for being there for me, for helping and understanding."

"Of course", she smiled with a happy expression. "And I am grateful you confided in me."

He kissed her again, more ardently this time. "I will not keep secrets from you anymore. That day, with Zoe. It nearly killed me when I had to leave you with her." He tightened his grip on her waist.

"Shh, it's okay, I'm okay. She didn't hurt me. We lived, she died. Lets not think about her again, alright?"

He relaxed. Taylor was right. Zoe couldn't hurt them anymore. The only problem he had to face tonight was how he was ever going to let her go.

Letting go didn't seem to be in Taylor's immediate plan as well, as she put her hands on his cheeks and pulled him close again. His hands roamed her back and sides and his thumbs caressed her stomach. It tickled her and he laughed with her. Until a sudden voice startled them.

"Taylor, is that you, honey? Are you going to introduce us to your friend?"

"Oh shit." Taylor looked up at him with sudden horror in her eyes. Had her mom seen he was not just any boy? Was it dark enough to hide his Atrian markings? Could he walk away?

"Do you want me to go?"

She was in distress, but held on to him for dear life. It wasn't what they had planned, but here they were and after all, now was as good as time as any. No use in postponing the inevitable.

"Come on", he said, stepping back and taking her hands in his. "Lets get this thing over with."

\---

Taylor felt like a wreck when she walked up the path to the front door where her mother was waiting. She saw the exact moment her mother realized that the boy she was with wasn't just any quarterback from school. Mrs. Beechams expression changed from resigned to abhorred.

"Oh, no. You did not."

"Mother", she hated the fact that her voice trembled. And even more that Drake had to witness this. He had told her about how his mother immediately offered her help when hearing about the pregnancy and now her own mother looked at Drake like he was a monster.

"This is Drake. I told you about him. He is the boy that saved Grayson."

Her mothers expression lessened only a fraction.

"You know what your father is going to say about this. He will not allow it, Taylor."

Fighting back the urge to shout at her mother that it was none of their business, Taylor stopped a few yards from the doorway. "Can we come in, mother?"

She squeezed Drake's hand so hard that she was sure she hurt him, but he said nothing and just stood there. She didn't even dare to look at his face, scared that she would begin to cry. Under no circumstance was she to cry. Maybe she should let Drake go home today. Give her mother a little while to get used to the idea, but Mrs. Beecham already replied with a curt: "Very well."

She counted to ten, picked up her nerves and walked through the door, her mother had gone ahead and was now standing in front of the stairs. Taylor eyed Drake as he took in the interior of her house and for the first time she tried to look at it from his perspective. A giant marble hall, grand stairs, high roof with a massive crystal chandelier above them. The open door to their left led to a sitting room where a fire was blazing. Up till now she had always loved to lie in front of it on the lush burgundy carpet. She had even imagined making love to Drake in front of the fireplace. But now she couldn't anymore.

Drake's eyes were wide open, but his forehead was wrinkled, what was he thinking? She couldn't imagine.

With a deep breath that made her shoulders almost go up to her ears, she finally looked at her mother, who had a difficult time not to scowl. How would Drake look to her, like a biker perhaps? His markings like tattoos all over his body and with muscles that made a bull jealous.

"You remember Drake, mother? From the ball? He is one of the seven Atrians who have been going to school with us these past months." Has it only been months? If felt like a lifetime ago when the seven first stepped into the school.

"Yes, I have a vague recollection of them being there. Are you the son of Nox?"

Drake spoke for the first time, his voice a little strained. "No. Ma'am", he quickly added. "That's my friend, Roman."

That seemed to disappoint her mother, but she soon pulled her face back into it's almost polite expression. "And how long has this been going on?"

Taylor had it. "Can you please act like Drake is a normal guy, which he is, like any other guy at school. This is embarrassing, mother."

However she inherited her temper from her mother, because the reply came immediately. "But he is not, isn't he? What kind of future do you think you will have with him? He is an alien, for Pete's sake. What about collage, all the plans we made? How in the world are you going to fit him in there. No, this will stop, right now. You've had your obsessions before, you got over them, you will get over him to."

"I'm pregnant!"

There, she'd said it. It shocked her that she had let those words fly, especially when seeing her mother turn white and stumble back until her heels hit the bottom step and she landed on the stairs. It would have been funny, if not for the reason.

All three of them were very still and nobody spoke a word for a solid three minutes. Then the large grandfather clock told the world that it was half past eight. Nobody moved.

"Taylor Elisabeth Beecham, you will send that alien away, and you will get rid of that ... that abomination."

The words her mother spoke, reached her ears in slow motion. When they finally registered, her vision became blurry and red and rage streamed through her body. She balled her fist, shouted: "What?" and charged at her mother, whose expression now turned to fear.

If it wasn't for Drake's strong arms, who held her back, with some effort, she would have attacked her mother.

"Taylor, calm down."

"Did you hear what she said? My own mother?" She felt hot tears fall on her cheeks, but it didn't matter anymore. Her world fell apart. Her mother, her very own mother, who had given birth to her, who had cared for her and loved her, or at least she thought."

Sobbing, she cried: "How can you? How can you say such a thing? It's my child, your grandchild. Get rid of it? I can believe you."

Holding on to Drake's arms around her for more than just physical support, Taylor watched her mother stand up and try to regain some dignity. And as if to make matters worse, the door behind them opened up and her father walked in.

The look on his face turned from surprised to angered as he saw Drake's firm grasp on his daughter and the glowing trails on her cheeks.

Both her parents started to talk at once. Her father demanded: "Young man, let go of my daughter at once.

And her mother yelled: "Ask your daughter what she has done. Go one, ask her."

Taylor saw her fathers look cross over to her mother.

"She has been secretly conspiring with the enemy and now she is pregnant with that alien. I want them out of my house, immediately."

A little bit of fear creeped up as she saw her fathers look turn dark. She quickly wiped her cheeks dry and held out her hands. Drake's arms moved, but his hands stayed firm on her waist. For her protection, or her parents', she didn't know.

"Daddy, please. I didn't mean for it to happened, but it did. But it's okay, we can handle it. Everything will work out, I promise." She repeated Drake's words, but it was as if her father didn't even hear her. Very slowly, he walked over to the side table and put his briefcase down. He took of his jacket, not looking at anyone.

His shoulders tensed, when her mother repeated: "I want her to get rid of it, but she flew at me. Say something, Mason."

With a wild beating heart, Taylor watched her father turn around and with terror she heard him say with a firm, irrefutable tone: "Of course she will get rid of it."

At that moment her legs gave out. Drake caught her and with a swift swoop, lifted her in his arms. She was barely aware of the expressions on her parents faces as Drake carried her outside. She could feel his arms tremble with rage and she could hear her parents shouting after them, but Drake just kept on walking. He ignored the car, which was probably a good thing. Her parents would most likely report that as stolen if they took it now and she was in no way fit to drive anyway. At the end of the street she thought she heard a door slam and then she started to cry. Deep, heavy sobs made a total mess of her make up, but she didn't care. Drake never slowed down, not until they were almost at the gate of the Sector, where he finally put her down and embraced her.

"I am so sorry", he said, over and over and all she could do was cry her eyes out.

Finally, as the alarm told them curfew was just around the corner, she could muster the strength to stop. With Drake's arm firmly around her shoulders, they walked inside the Sector, only to be halted by the guards.

He scanned Drake's wristband, but lifted his hand before her. "I'm sorry miss, I can't let you in. Go home."

She almost began to cry again, when Drake replied: "This is her home."

"No humans at the Sector after curfew, that's the rule. No exceptions."

Then where was she supposed to go?

"Miss, are you alright? Your eyes ..."

Oh, great. Oh well, her parents knew, the whole world could know for all she cared.

"Wait a minute", a second guard walked up, his gun at the ready. "Are you a Trag? One who's had her markings removed?"

The first guard took a step back and lifted his gun also.

"No, she's not. She's human." Drake stepped in front of her.

"Then why do her eyes glow."

Taylor sniffed. "Just my tears, stupid. I'm pregnant, alright, that's what happens if you carry an Atrian child. My parents kicked me out and I have no other place I can go, so call Gloria, or Jefferson or whoever you need to call, but I'm tired and I'm going in. My name is Taylor and you can find me at Drake's pod."

Before anyone could say or do anything, she walked passed the checkpoint, dragging Drake with her, in the direction of his pod, which was a bottom, corner one. Alarmed voices, speaking into a radio, faded in the distance, but no one followed them.

All those containers piled up on top of one another made her feel anxious. She was sure her cheeks were still glowing from wet tears and the few Atrians still outside stopped to stare, but it didn't matter anymore. Everyone in Eljida knew, her parents knew, soon the whole world would know, she didn't care. All she wanted was to cuddle up inside Drake's arms and forget the world even existed.

Saroya waited for them in the pod and took her in her arms, the minute Drake's mom saw the state she was in. she didn't ask anything, just helped her undress and tuck her in.

She was asleep the minute her head hit the pillow.


	9. Chapter 9

"What happened?" Saroya asked, when they were alone in the living quarters.

Drake was still pumped up and kept pacing back and forth as he told what had occurred.

"We stood in front of her house, saying goodbye, and her mother saw us. She invited us in, but clearly had not expected me." His head was still reeling from the hostility he had met inside the house. How was it possible his sweet, kind girl had such parents?

"She told Taylor to break up with me. But that was not the worst of it. She ..." He could hardly utter the words and stomped his hand against the kitchen counter.

"Taylor told her she was pregnant and her mother ... her móther, told her to get rid of it." He was so angry he could break something. So he kept pacing up and down, until Saroya appeared in front of him. Shock written all over her face.

"Her father came home and she implored him, but he agreed with her mother. Taylor almost fainted, so I lifted her up and carried her here. She hasn't stopped crying since."

With a brusque movement he turned away from his mother and growled. If it had been anyone other than Taylor's parents, he would have killed them for hurting his girl so.

Hot tears burned behind his eyes and he breathed hard a few times to hold them back. "Savages!" He shouted and stomped the wall of the pod, shaking it.

"Drake, stop, you'll wake her. Calm down. You brought her here, she is safe. How did you get passed the guards?"

At the thought of the slim, human blonde, throwing a fit, he actually felt his heartbeat slowing down. "She just blew them off, told them to call Gloria or Jefferson and stamped right through. They know where to find us, I suppose." He finally sat down, one side of his mouth up a bit. But his grim expression quickly returned as he thought again about how her parents had practically thrown her out. Thinking himself he wasn't good enough for her, was one thing. Having her parents looking at him like filth was too much.

With a brusque move he looked at the doorway to his room, where Taylor was sound asleep. The need to protect her from such savages pumped inside his blood. He stood up and walked towards her without another word. He shoved the door in place, took of his boots, gloves and jacket and lay down behind Taylor. She immediately crawled into him and relaxed, as if she knew, subconsciously, that with him she was safe. He placed an arm around her and stared at the blond curls until his eyes became too heavy and he to drifted off.

\---

Taylor awoke with a content, warm feeling and a weight pressing down on her abdomen. Drowsy, she turned her head and saw a short, cropped head close beside her. Easy, slow breathing tickled her ear and it took her a while to realize she was lying in bed beside Drake. She was lying in his bed, in his pod.

With a bang, the whole episode that happened last night came back to her and her breathing sped up at once.

She tried to calm down, concentrating on the steady heartbeat of the large body that almost knocked her out of the bed. If this was going to be a recurring thing, they needed a bigger bed.

Looking at Drake's relaxed face, following the lines of his markings with her eyes, she found she could push the panic back. After a few minutes, she could even enjoy lying here, if it wasn't for a pressing matter that became harder and harder to resist.

At last she pushed Drake's arm away and stepped out of bed. The reality of not even having her brush to comb her hair, which must look like a haystack, made her pinch her lips. The floor was cold beneath her bare feet and she quickly stepped into her heels. How could she ever get used to this?

The door slid open quietly and walking on tiptoes, she moved through the narrow hall to locate a bathroom of some sort. She found one in the back and gratefully washed her face. There was some make-up in her bag, but that was still in Drake's room. At least she found a brush that must be Saroya's. Without her curling iron she flattened her hair into a pony tale and looked at herself for a while.

"Welcome to your new life", she sighed and then jumped up in fright as Drake suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"There you are."

"Yep, here I am", she tried to smile, but the effort was to much and her lips trembled a bit.

"I'm sorry. I'm really grateful I have a place to stay. I guess I just need some time to adjust."

Drake walked in and stood behind her in the small area. His big hands covered her shoulders and his head towered above hers. He looked at her in the window and she saw the vulnerability in his eyes. He wanted to do right by her, she knew that. He desperately tried to work things out, but she just needed some time.

"Do you want to take a shower? There are towels in the cabinet and I will get you some clean clothes."

Clothes. Would she ever see her wardrobe again?

"Actually, I am really hungry, can we eat first?"

At that he smiled, a real smile, which she copied.

She sat down at the small table as Drake searched through his cabinets, taking out anything that she might like. Soon the table was so full, the plates hardly fitted anymore. Saroya came out of her room and laughed when she saw it. "Eat as much as you like, I will get more while you are at school."

Taylor's mood dropped immediately. School. She wasn't sure she should go there, at least, not until she was sure there would be no repercussions for her or Drake from walking out on her parents yesterday.

Saroya was about to say something when there was a knock on the door.

Taylor swallowed her bite and anxiously looked around. Drake stood up, all ready to pounce anybody who would try to do anything he didn't want, but it was only Gloria at the door.

"I got a call early this morning, telling me that someone named Taylor was inside the Sector all night, proclaiming she was pregnant and that she had nowhere else to go", Gloria said, once inside and seated on the couch. "I take it telling your parents did not go so well."

The food didn't taste as good anymore, even though she was still hungry. Taylor sighed and explained in a very short summery what had happened last night. Gloria shook her head in dismay.

"I am very sorry. The guards told me they had received a phone call from Mr. Beecham, but they assured him that no one was being held against their will inside the Sector. No human, that was", she quickly added, eying Drake and his mother for a brief second. "I suspect we will hear from him soon. Even though I am no longer the national security advisor, I still have some say in the matter. For now."

Her eyes lay on Taylor's stomach for a moment. "Word will be out by now, soon we can expect the media back at the gate. I think it will be safer for you to remain here for the time being. I will inform school. Your classmates can forward you your work."

"And what about Drake?" Taylor reached out and took his hand. She didn't want to be left here without him.

"Drake will have a hard time proving to people he isn't the alien intruder, trying to colonize humanity by impregnating our young girls."

Taylor almost spit out her food.

"For his own safety, until we can give some sort of press release, he'd better stay here too."

The press release came in the form of an interview. Gloria arranged for two of the newspapers most easygoing liaisons to come inside the pod and ask the obvious questions.

Taylor found that they were a bit let down by the fact that nothing really scandalous had happened and that, in fact, both parents to be were equally to blame and equally committed to make things work. They had agreed to keep the devastating remarks of her parents to themselves. Jefferson, who had come over as soon as he could, told her he had spoken with her father. Apparently Mr. Beecham wanted to have her back, but Taylor was pretty sure he only meant her, and not her child.

After the interview went viral, she received several calls from both her father and her mother, but she only texted them in the end, that if they didn't want to support her pregnancy, she would not come home. They were silent after that.

The next few days brought forth both good and bad things. As expected; her pregnancy poured a whole new cup of hostility over Edendale, but, surprisingly there were also positive sounds of people believing this was a sign integration could really work. No real actions were taken and an additional interview by Grayson, who was finally released from the hospital, helped turn the heat away from Drake. Everyone who said anything about him being an alien rapist, could count on some pretty strong words from Taylor. After a while some tabloids even wrote that the poor alien had been seduced by the queen bee of Marshall High.

Taylor, after hearing about that, was overcome by a feat of giggles.

All sorts of creepy pictures erupted about alien baby's with tentacles, three eyes or flippers instead of feet. Until Gloria brought a doctor to their pod with a portable ultrasound and 3D scans were released that showed a perfectly normal baby.

With tears in her eyes Taylor could not stop to look at the tiny being that was growing inside of her. Nothing was visible on the outside yet, but now it no longer felt totally unreal.

Sophia and Emery had provided her with clothing and make up and Emery even offered to go up to her house to collect some of her own things. Taylor didn't think that was such a good idea yet.

In the middle of all this, a new happening soon pushed the Atrian-human baby news to the background.

Jefferson, in cooperation with Roman, had entered the crashed ship and made contact with the fleet that was now heading for Earth. And it was not just one ship, or two. The fleet of Atrian cargo ships, having flown around the now uninhabitable home world of the Atrians, waiting for the beacon to summon them to a new home, existed of forty-nine ships. All filled with five thousand Atrians, in need of a place to live. They would arrive in a little over five months.

\---

Living together with not only a mother, but also a girlfriend, was quite trying for someone who had been alone most of his life. There were times Drake felt like screaming, or running away, but then moments like this occurred, where his mother sat tampering with some technical thing and Taylor was scrolling through her baby pictures on her phone, lying with her head in his lap.

They were waiting for Roman. Ever since his friend had become Iksen, it had been difficult to even say hello to him. Of course his own situation didn't help with communications either, but Jefferson had ensured them that they could go back to school again next Monday.

In the end, Drake just made an appointment with his best friend, figuring that worked best.

At exactly the right time, there was a knock on his door and not willing to get up, he yelled: "Come in."

Roman wasn't alone, Emery tagged along. Did he have to make appointments with her as well? Drake still thought it wouldn't work out between the two of them, but they seemed to be pulling it off.

"Hey, you two." Taylor sat up and gave the pair a happy smile.

He was glad to see her peppy spirit hadn't been wiped out by those savages he could hardly call parents.

"Do you know, now that I'm considered half an Atrian, you are my Iksen too, Roman."

Taylor's comment made them all laugh.

Saroya still greeted Roman officially with a nod and the word: _Alyakson_. Drake had never bothered and wasn't about to treat his friend any different.

"So", Roman sat down, Emery by his side, and asked: "Was there a specific reason that you wanted to see me, or just to hang out?"

Drake grinned. "I figured there wasn't any other way to get to talk to you. Maybe we should put meetings like this in your agenda regularly."

Roman looked ashamed. "I'm sorry. I've been thinking of dropping out of school. This task is just so much more demanding than I ever thought it would be. And now that the ships are coming ... I need to give our people all my attention and soon there will be many more."

"We still have a few months", Emery commented. "And you can always delegate tasks, like we talked about."

Inside, Drake grimaced. Sometimes Emery was a bit too human. The Atrians were no Americans. Democracy didn't work the same with them. There was the council of elders who kept an eye on everything and the Iksen discussed matters with them. But an Iksen was in charge and was expected to decide everything for the people. Forming a comity wasn't part of Atrian governing.

Still, knowing Roman, and his wish to integrate his people, there was always a chance he would change that governing. Especially if the suggestion came from Emery.

He dropped the thought, politics weren't for him. He would fight and protect his people when necessary, that was his job.

"Have you had any more contact with the ships?" Taylor asked, bringing their attention back to the matter at hand.

"Yes, we agreed to have contact every other day. We couldn't bring the communicator with us into the Sector, so Jefferson and I have to climb up into the cockpit every time."

"And how are they dealing with the fact that we have been prisoners here for the last ten years?" Drake watched his friend closely. Roman didn't have to tell him everything, but he hoped he would, like he always had.

He was not disappointed.

"Not good, at first. But we managed to convince them of the changes we've made. Jefferson understands very well that the ships have the power to deal the humans a great blow and does his best to convince the board that it is in all our best interest to give us our freedom. The fact that Edendale Springs is about ready, helps a great deal. Tomorrow we will present our people with the choice to move there."

Taylor sat up immediately. "Really? That is wonderful. Can we move there, Drake, please?"

Her puppy-dog eyes were hard to resist, but he was not ready yet to leave the Sector behind. Which was actually quite shocking, considering the lengths he had been going to, to get out of here. Actually having the opportunity to leave now made him skittish. And there was also the matter of having to live in a house that had been build according to human standards. Opinions about that have been varied.

"We'll talk about it later. For you it's still safer in here then out there."

Taylor slouched back in the couch with her arms crossed and muttered something inaudible.

She had been bored, he knew that. Going back to school would help.

"But, where will all those new Atrian live?", Emery asked, convincing Drake that Roman and her hadn't spent very much time together as well. "Forty-nine times five thousand is almost two hundred and fifty thousand. They won't all fit in Edendale Springs. And what about the ones in Eljida. Will they come out of hiding, now that the rest of your people is coming?"

"We don't know yet", Roman answered, rubbing his face, appearing tired. "Compared to the number of people who live in this state, it's just a small part. Yet it surpasses the number of people living in Edendale. They are thinking of creating a separate town, encompassing Edendale Springs, but nothing has been decided yet."

The idea of so many of their people finally coming back to the small group that had been stranded here on Earth brought all sorts of emotions to the surface. There was one option none of them had spoken off. One he would have jumped on only a few months ago. One he was afraid of suggesting now because of the girl sitting next to him.

However, his mother appeared to be on the same page with her thoughts, because she asked: "And what if our people want to leave this world?"

Everyone looked her way, but Saroya only looked at Roman, who sighed.

"We have thought about that, but not discussed it yet with the fleet commander. You of all people should know that in coming here, especially after ten years, most of the recourses on board will be depleted. The ones who have been awoken by the beacon cannot be put into stasis again. Searching for another planet may not even be possible anymore."

Saroya nodded and went back to what she was doing. She didn't look to be too concerned about not being able to leave Earth.

He hadn't told her about their search for his father, yet. With all that had been happening with Taylor and the ships, finding out who exactly was in the Crate had gotten a low priority, but he was planning on talking to Jefferson about it soon.


	10. Chapter 10

Coming back to school after everyone having found out she was pregnant with an alien baby, was worse than any first day of school could ever be. Taylor was used to getting stared at, but most of the time those stares had been positive. Boys looking at her figure, girls wanting to be her, friends waiting for the next party she would throw. This time half of the students looked at her with disgust and the other half just looked away. She was glad to find there were still a few good friends who wanted to know her.

The Atrian seven now were no longer the Atrian seven, but the Atrian twenty-four. Seventeen new kids were enrolling in Marshall High. Even though the school year was already half way passed. They must have figured time was of the essence. Integration must work, or else there was little hope for humanity. This time Freshmen and Sophomores were added.

All those new, alien faces relieved some of the tension around her and Drake. She really hoped the novelty would wear of soon. She wasn't even showing yet, for goodness sake.

Her parents had apparently casted her out completely, after she told them she would keep the baby. Luckily Gloria had been able to keep them from making any serious custody alterations. If it came to a court battle, Taylor would drag her parents down so low they would have to move, to save face. That threat had helped, but she was still heartbroken that her parents could let go of her so easily.

If it wasn't for Saroya and Drake, she would have been a mess.

It had been hard at first, living in a container. Saroya had been kind in offering the master bedroom to them, so they could sleep together. Everything was so much smaller, so much more confined, that she thought she was going crazy at least twice a day. But she finally was beginning to get used to it. A little bit. It bothered her that Drake was right about her safety, but she hoped that would change soon.

The number of times she had to stop Drake for punching some guy in the face due to a stupid remark lessened over the course of the day. Especially because her belly was still as flat as before. Some even whispered everything was a lie.

After school, Drake sent her back to the Sector with Sophia. She had to promise to stay there until he got back and because he would not leave her if she didn't promise, she did. But with protest.

"If you are with me, nothing will happen to me. You can't lock me up forever."

"I'm not locking you up, I'm trying to keep you safe. I need to see Jefferson about my father and I want to have my hands free just in case I need to go somewhere."

"You know, that is a really insensitive thing to say. Like I am a handful. You were the one that took me with you to the Sector, you know." Taylor knew she was being unreasonable, but she really didn't like to be left out of something they discovered together.

They were stopped from really getting into an argument when the bus driver called that he wanted to leave.

She turned around and marched up the steps into the bus, but when she sat down and looked out the window, she saw Drake standing with an unhappy expression.

"Wait!" she yelled at the driver and raced forward to the door again. Drake caught her when she flew out of the bus into his arms. "I'm sorry. I know you only want to keep me safe. It's just frustrating to be so confined and all I really want is to be with you." She laughed a little when she heard herself echo his words back to him.

"I'm sorry", she whispered again. Drake kissed her and whoops erupted all around them.

It wasn't until she was back on the bus, waving at him as she drove off, that she realized that this had been the first time anyone at school had seen them kissing.

Apparently the endearing image of her flying into his arms made the whole Atrian-human hook up thing a little less disturbing. Drake told her later that day, when he came back from his conversation with Jefferson, that no one had bothered him anymore afterwards.

"And? Did Jefferson know anything?" she asked him, while stuffing her mouth with some left over pasta Saroya had made the day before. Was this binch-eating thing ever going to stop?

"No, but he will look into it. He only had a few minutes for me. He had a meeting with the board. It's on his agenda, he told me, to look at the list of names together with Roman and the Hwatab, to find out if any more Atrians are locked up in there without just cause, like my mom was."

"That's a good thing, isn't it. Surely your father, if he is in there, will be released soon."

She could see that Drake didn't want to get his hopes up and changed the subject. "Do you know where your mom is? I haven't seen her yet."

"No, but she's probably just out in the market or something. Don't worry, she'll be back soon."

Together they fixed dinner, but even as it turned dark, Saroya still hadn't returned.

"I'm going to look for her. You stay here and lock the door behind me, alright?"

She did as he said, and locked herself in the pod. She even checked if the windows were sealed. And then she began to clean up. The pod had been a lot neater since Saroya came back and Taylor tried to do her part. Which wasn't easy, since she never learned how.

She stopped to regard herself for a moment. Her clothes had been a lot less colorful, because the Atrians usually wore black, white or any shade in between. Her nails never survived the first time she did the laundry and without her kit there was no way she could bring them back to their former glory. Her hair she nowadays mostly wore in a simple ponytail. She was beginning to wonder if Drake might be less interested in her, now that she looked more like the girls he grew up with. Even though they slept together every day, he had not touched her since she moved in. Was that because his mother slept just down the hall? Or was there more to it?

Dropping the plaids she had folded, in a messy pile on the couch, she hurried to the bathroom and focused on her face. Were those bags under her eyes? She moved her face closer. No, it was just the lighting. She exhaled.

Turning her head left and right, she could not help but wonder how it was possible that she had not gained weight with all the eating she had been doing the past weeks. Or had she, and had she simply not noticed.

Someone banged at the door and she hurried to open it when Drake called her name.

As soon as he was inside, she asked: "Did I gain wait? Are my hips bigger? Because I have been eating so much, it's impossible not to have gained weight, right? And your mirror is so small, I can't see myself completely. So tell me honestly, am I getting fat?"

Drake was staring at her and he looked puzzled. She puckered her lips and tried to read his emotions but she couldn't tell if he secretly thought she was or not. Then she remembered the reason he went outside in the first place. "Oh, did you find your mother?"

Shaking his head, still looking puzzled, he answered: "She's not here, but Roman's mom said not to worry, she would be back before curfew."

They both looked at the clock. Half an hour till curfew.

"This one or tomorrows?"

"Not sure."

The silence lasted a few minutes, then Taylor looked at her catastrophic nails again and asked in a small voice: "Drake, tell me the truth, do you still find me attractive?"

He whipped his head back to her, cocked his eyebrows and all of a sudden he crashed his lips to hers.

They wasted no time in getting to the bedroom. Clothes almost ripped in their hurry to be close and with a deep sigh, Taylor set her nails in Drake's broad shoulders. Lucky for him they were cut short.

Music from outside in the marketplace reached her ears as they moved in unison. Breathing sped up and mingled as they kissed until she was out of breath and had to lift her head. Drake's lips found her throat and collarbone and left a hot trail that made it impossible to doubt his feelings for her any longer.

Afterwards, as they lay with his head on her stomach, she licked the tip of her finger and followed the markings on his shoulder. They lit up glowing blue where the moist toughed him. Her child would have the same kind of markings, she almost wished she had them too.

"Do the markings resemble that of the parents? I mean, I've never looked closely at them before, but are yours and Saroya's alike?"

Drake turned his head, kissed her belly, which made her giggle and answered: "No, they're all different. Some have more and some less, they're all in approximately the same places, though: upper arms and legs, stomach and back, beneath the eyes and around throat and ears. Maybe our kid will have less."

"Do you ..." She paused, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"What?" He looked up at her and pushed himself up a bit.

"Well, do you ever regret it? Us, being pregnant and all?"

"No!" his immediate answer came.

She scowled and a little less fervent he elaborated: "No, I don't regret it. Of course I think things would have been easier if it hadn't happened, but we can't change the fact that it did. And I'm truly happy about it."

"Also ... also with me being the mother? I mean, I'm not even an Atrian."

"Hey." Drake moved to lay beside her and placed his hand on her cheek. "I wouldn't want anyone else to bare my child, okay. I know we're young and this wasn't planned, but I will never leave you alone. Trust me."

A warm fuzzy feeling spread across her body as Drake kissed her deeply. Whatever Drake was, a warrior, an alien, a teenager in the eyes of the world, she was one hundred percent sure he was loyal.

Clanging sounds from Atrians moving in the pods above and next to them had become normal, but as the evening progressed, the sounds disappeared, until they were all but gone. In the silence, they lay awake, looking at he shadows that the outside lights made through the thin curtain in front of the circular window. Atrians had a lot of trinkets and ornaments in their pods. Taylor wondered it that had become a habit in order to decorate the ugly sea containers, or if it was an Atrian thing. All throughout the Sector were these kinds of decorations, mostly made of whatever kind of scrap they had lying around. She figured if you hadn't much, you used everything you could get your hands on.

"Drake?"

There came no reply, was he already asleep? Probably a good idea, now that they were back in school.

She snuggled a little closer to him and closed her eyes. She would ask him tomorrow about his reluctance to live in Edendale Springs.

The next morning they overslept and had to hurry to get to the bus in time. Saroya hadn't returned yet, but since the true enemies were dead or behind bars, they didn't worry too much.

School was better today. Drake had been right, their public display of affection yesterday had helped.

It wasn't until they were back in the Sector and were called to a meeting with the elders, that Taylor felt anxious again.

"What do they need me for? Are they mad at me?"

Drake tried to reassure her. "No, Roman assured me they'd accepted the pregnancy without much fuss."

"Than why do they want to see us?"

"I don't know, that's what we're going to find out."

She pinched his hand with both of hers, as they walked towards the Sector's version of the Bug. At least, that's how Drake described it. When they walked in, Taylor had a very hard time comparing the two. For one, there was no music and two, in the middle of the large open place, was a table where four people were seated that actually frightened her. Especially the dark haired man with his fierce look.

Her nerves eased up a bit when she recognized Roman standing with his arms on his back, next to the table. He was smiling, so it couldn't be that bad, right?

"Taylor, let me introduce you to the Hwatab." Roman gestured to each of the three men and one woman and named their tribes names. Apparently the most scariest man was the elder of Drake's tribe, the Vwasak. Great.

"We have asked you to come here today, because we want to suggest a position for you to take. We have already asked Saroya for a similar position and she has accepted."

"Is that why she is missing?" Drake interrupted his friend, causing the elders to raise their eyebrows.

"Yes. She will be back soon, don't worry."

"Where is she?"

"Drake!" Roman shook his head and nodded barely noticeable towards the Hwatab.

Taylor looked at her boyfriend and when he turned his head her way, she smiled a bit. Conveying to him without words to be patient. He inhaled deeply and exhaled with a huff. "Fine, I'll listen, but I want to know anyway. My mother has been in the Crate for eight years, for something she hadn't done, but what our people blamed her for anyway. She had been in danger here before and I will not have her put in danger again."

"She is not in danger, Drake", the elder of his tribe now said. "You will know soon enough, but for now, lister to your Iksen."

He accepted the rebuke with a bow of his head and Taylor focused her attention back on Roman. What in the world would they want from her?

The leader of the Zwahan tribe, a man with long, white hair, spoke next: "Soon, many of our people will leave the Sector and move into the houses in Edendale Springs. We cannot divide ourselves, but it will be necessary to have a form of governing in both places. Roman will live there, but his task as Iksen will keep him traveling back and forth a lot. This asks for something we have had no need for here on earth, but was customary on Atria. We need a_ Pyarazen_."

In Drake's face she could see lines beginning to form and she had to bite her lip to keep her curiosity in check.

It only took a few seconds, but then Drake began to laugh. One short, unbelieving outburst.

"Me? You've got to be joking."

"I need someone I can trust and the people there need someone who holds both Atrians and humans in high regard."

Drake interrupted him. "That's not me and you know it. Alright, I don't hate humans any more, not all of them, but I am far from holding them in high regard."

With a sigh, Roman shook his head and with a little smile he said: "That is why we are not talking about you, but about Taylor."


	11. Chapter 11

"Wait, what, me?"

All eyes were on her now. Four pairs with a serious expression, one with a slight smile and one, the one closest to her, bulging.

"But I'm not even Atrian, how can I be a pjarzan-something. I don't even know what that is. And I'm only sixteen and pregnant."

The elder-woman cocked her head. "Does a pregnancy make you less strong? Less capable? And does a young age make you less caring? Roman ensures us you have always had the best interest at heart for both our people and now that you are intimately connected to both, you, better than anyone, are qualified for this position."

With her hands open and lifted halfway, Taylor pleaded: "But I don't even know what you want me to do? Half the world hates me."

"It's not an order, Taylor, it's a question. We all feel you can do the job, but perhaps it's a good idea to explain what a Pyarazen is."

"Yes", she felt the panic subside a bit and her heartbeat slow. Just a question, she had a choice. That was good.

Drake still had that incredulous expression on his face, when she looked at him, but now there was also a little pride shining through.

"A Pyarazen" Roman explained, "is something like a Mayor. Literally it means to gaze, to oversee. You won't have to make any big decisions, we just need you to be there, to listen and observe."

"Like a spy?" She didn't like that idea and was relieved when Roman immediately shook his head.

"No, like ... like a spokesperson. A liaison. More like an intermediary."

Ow, okay, that sounded almost like the role she had had at school for the last few years. A spokesperson, listening to rumors and complaints and fixing them, right? She could do that.

"But will the Atrians want to listen to me? Or even speak to me? I may carry an Atrian baby, but I most definitely do not look like one of you. They will never trust me."

"You will have to earn their trust, gain their favor, like you have done with Drake and Roman and the others who have gotten to know you."

"You ... you make it sound like I have used some weird powers to sway them."

"Have you?"

"No!" She felt Drake stiffen next to her.

Roman stepped up again. He really was the right man for the job, even if he was still just a boy. That sudden insight gave her more confidence that she could actually do this, than all their words combined. It was not as if she had to change. She was chosen because of the qualities she already possessed.

"You are kind. And you are someone people listen to. You are a natural leader without having to be hard."

She felt her heart begin to glow and could not withhold a smile.

"And you won't have to do it alone, Drake and his mother will be there. They will help you learn our ways and understand our needs."

With a firm nod, she made up her mind. "Okay, I'll do it. Do I, like, get a golden chain around my neck or something?"

They all looked at her with similar confused expressions and she quickly waved her hand. "Never mind. So, when do I start?"

It turned out there was no ceremony of sorts to accompany her new gained title, so from now on she would just have to trust that gossip would do the trick and that everybody would simply know that she was now a ... Pyarazen. Yes, she finally had the word right. Who would have thought. She, the Mayor of Edendale Springs. Would the humans acknowledge that title as well?

There was however a more pressing matter to address than whether or not the real Mayor of Edendale would see her as some sort of equal. They would have to move to the new community and she was not sure how Drake felt about that.

Back in the pod, she sat down, looked at her fingers for a few seconds and then up to Drake, who was sitting opposite her, looking at the door.

"Still worried about your mom?"

His head swiveled back to her. "No, not worried, just, anxious. Why couldn't they just tell us where she is?"

"She'll be back soon, right? Then she will tell us all about it."

She bit her lip and finally asked: "Drake ... are you okay with all of this? I mean, with me being Pyarazen and with us moving to Edendale Springs? I know you never wanted that and it will be a big change. I didn't ask you if you wanted me to become this Mayor-thing and move there, because I didn't want to embarrass you, but now I'm asking and if you don't want to go, I won't be and we can stay here."

Halfway her speech, Drake got up and when she was finished he was sitting besides her, holding her hand and shaking his head.

"No, no, you have to do it. They are right, this is something you were born for. And don't worry, alright. The Atrians may have to get used to you as a leader, but they will respect the Hwatab and you will be safe there."

"That's not what I want to know. You obviously have issues with the whole place. Won't you tell me why?"

Drake's hands let go of hers and fidgeted a little with his fingerless gloves. With those he still looked like he was about to punch something any minute, but she knew they were merely a part of his style. It made him look tough, and she liked it. However, she didn't like the look on his face as he was searching for words. She felt selfish for not talking to him about her choice before she said yes, but she really wanted to move into a real house. Sure, she got used to the pod. It was homely enough and bright and colorful. It had everything they needed, but she wanted more. She wanted less noise from neighbors, clanging and banging on floors and walls. She wanted a big bathroom with a bathtub and square windows that looked out over houses and yards and roads. Above all she wanted a room with a normal big bed, curtains to close before they went to sleep and a closet where she could hang her dresses. She needed new ones, since her belly was beginning to grow.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Drake finally said: "I don't remember much from our home on Atria. I have only a vague recollection of it. Small, bright, doors that open, mom in the kitchen. I mostly remember the yard, it was all around the house, with water nearby."

He eyed her a second. "I've been clinging on to those memories and I guess," he looked down again, "I'm afraid I will loose them completely when we move into a house that will resemble it in some way."

"You don't have pictures?" Taylor softly asked, placing one hand over his.

"No, most of what we had was lost after the crash. Personal belongings, but also stuff we took to remember our culture. It was all taken from us."

Suddenly Taylor piped up. "The warehouse!"

Drake's head shot up. "You think it might be there?"

"They brought everything there, didn't they? We have to talk to Jefferson. Right now."

Taylor jumped up, but right at that moment, the door opened and Saroya walked in.

"Mom, where have you been?"

"Relax Drake, I'm fine. I will tell you all about it. Did the Hwatab talk to you?" She looked at Taylor.

"You knew? That they were going to ask me to become ... eh..."

"Pyarazen? Yes, I knew. They told me before they sent me to Eljida."

"You went to Eljida?"

Saroya's eyebrows knitted together. "They could have at least told you that. Paranoid old men. Yes, they wanted me to go there, since I spent a little time there. They wanted me to talk to them about everything and ask what they wanted. Eljida has always been a part of the Atrians, but never a part of the Sector. They respect the Hwatab as elders, but have their own form of governing as well. Lela is Pyarazen there, you've met her briefly, Taylor."

"The woman that sat in the chair? But she never said a word."

"Being Pyarazen is just as much about listening as it is about being able to talk to the right people. Jesytur is her ... second, you could call it. She never left Eljida, but now that the others are coming, perhaps they will."

"They will move to Ededale Springs?"

"No, there isn't enough room for all of us. But perhaps in time."

Drake, who was more at ease, now that his mom was with them, asked: "What do they think about the ships coming?"

Sitting down, Saroya smiled a little. "They know a lot more than we do. As secretive as Vega was about the suvek, so open are the Atrians in Eljida. They share everything they know. That is why Jesytur told Roman to stop it. He knew what the suvek would do and wasn't necessarily apposed to it, but he knew it would cause trouble."

"And now?"

"They want to renew the bonds between us. They are all part of families that have been separated some way or another after the crash. For now they will remain hidden, but they will also speak to the humans. Let them know they are there and that they are not hostile."

"We were just about to go to Jefferson, you should come with us."

Saroya's expression changed to one of worry. "Why are you going there?"

"Because of the warehouse."

"Warehouse?"

Hadn't they told Saroya about it? Taylor was getting confused about who knew what. The way they handled things in Eljida sounded so much healthier.

"There is a warehouse, a magazine on a military base near Baton Rouge, where they stored all the Atrian things they found on Arrival day. The bracelet came from there."

Saroya's hand shot to her wrist. Was she wearing the bracelet under her sleeve? It would make sense.

"It would be a good sign of faith when they would give all that stuff back."

"Yes", said Saroya, a little absent. Then she stood up and with conviction added: "We shall go there together. Call Roman, he needs to go as well. Together we shall make sure the humans know that cooperating is in their best interest."

Taylor got up, a little less enthusiastic this time and warily asked: "We're not going to threaten anyone, are we?"

"Let's hope it won't come to that."

They left the pod, picked up Roman, who had Emery with him, and headed towards the gate. They were reminded there of curfew, but could walk through without further questioning. Emery's car was small, but they all fit and drove to Jefferson's office.

He was there, even if the hour was getting a bit late already and Taylor was beginning to feel very hungry. She was therefore very happy with the suggestion that they held their impromptu meeting in a secluded restaurant.

It was a first time for the Atrians to be inside an establishment such as this and Taylor saw them eying their surroundings with a mixture of awe and suspicion.

After the waiter had left them with their order of drinks, Jefferson wasted no time and asked why they were here.

Taylor opened her mouth, but Roman beat her to it.

"There are a number of things we need to discuss, some of which are just information, perhaps better held for when we meet in the office."

"Where I can make notes, yes, I understand. We will have time for that, after dinner, if you please."

Roman nodded. "There is one matter we want to talk about that we can already mention. The warehouse."

Jefferson seemed to relax when Roman mentioned that. He actually looked pleased, Taylor thought. That had to be a good sign.

"Ah, yes. I did some digging, after you told me. You will be happy to hear that the person who had been making money of some of the items, has been apprehended and all the items, those who are traceable at least, will be returned."

"And given back?" Emery's voice was stern. Taylor figured she would make a good negotiator, perhaps the Hwatab could give her a title as well.

Lowering his head, Jefferson said: "Yes, everything that is recognizably harmless will be returned immediately, for the items we cannot identify, I will need your help." He looked at Roman, who nodded.

"I will be trusting you, Roman. A lot of your tech is way ahead of our science and could just as well be a weapon of mass destruction as a harmless artifact."

Taylor thought about what Drake had told her about the cube. It was a good thing Roman was Iksen. Him, she trusted full-heartedly.

The meal progressed easily, with superficial conversation and not much more decided. Taylor enjoyed herself immensely, feeling in her element once again. She ate more than all the others and was made fun of because of it, but she didn't care.

A lot of eyes were on them and she even saw some phones directed their way, but that was also of little consequence. She suspected Jefferson for having invited them here on purpose, yet couldn't disagree with his methods. He seemed to genuinely want integration to work, she wandered why. Gloria's motives became clear over time, but she sure hoped Jefferson's reasons were less shocking.

After dinner, they reconvened in Jefferson's office and a lot of details were discussed. He accepted Taylor's new function without hesitation, even fully agreeing with the choice the Hwatab had made. He made a friend of Drake with his support and she was happy about it.

A few people in Washington were added in a conference call to sit in on the meeting as they discussed the needs of the large group of Atrians that were coming to Earth. As well as the ones in Eljida that wanted to come out of hiding.

For now it was decided that the general population didn't need to be informed of the ones who have been living in the Bajou without anyone knowing. What they would be informed of was the piece of land next to Edendale Springs, that would be transformed into a new town. For now it received the name New Atria, if the Atrians wanted to rename it in time, they could.

When the evening progressed, Taylor became tired, but she found she was content and just listened to the others as they debated and deliberated about pro's and con's of everything that had to be done in the few short months that were left before the ships arrived.

She almost fell asleep when the men and women, whose faces were getting blurry on the screen, were asking question after question about how many Atrians were on the ships.

Half an hour before midnight – Jefferson cleared them with the SEU – they were driven back to the Sector. Emery had left before that, since her presence wasn't required and she had parents who actually wanted her home.

There was something nagging in her head, something they had forgotten to mention during the entire meeting, but her brains wouldn't cooperate anymore. She fell asleep when her head hit the pillow.

It was there when she woke up the next day. Sitting right on the edge of her conscious thoughts, but she couldn't reach it. The whole morning it bugged her, until right after lunch she suddenly remembered.

"Drake", she whispered to him, after she swallowed her bite. The others at their table were chatting about random stuff and no one was paying much attention to them.

"We never asked about your father, yesterday. We forgot."

He was less shaken that she had expected, did he know something already?

"I didn't forget, but my mom was there and if we said anything right there, the focus would be on the people in the Crate and that is a much more difficult conversation. It was going so well yesterday, they are on our side now. We have to let Jefferson and Roman do their thing."

"Their thing?" She thought Drake was way to calm about this, but, then again, perhaps she was making to much of it. In her mind she knew Drake was right. The board was much more inclined to set prisoners free if things were progressing in a good way.

She exhaled. "You are right, we should have a little fate in them. It's just the idea of innocent people in prison ..." She calmed herself. It was no use getting all worked up about it. But Roman had better be doing something about it soon.


	12. Chapter 12

That weekend, Taylor, Drake and Saroya visited Edendale Springs. They met Gloria, who seemed to be a lot less stressed, now that she was no longer in charge of the whole integration process. She introduced them to her mother, who was moving in one of the houses with her daughter and both were eager for Gloria's son to join them. Taylor was happy to be able to tell that, when the actual move began, Jesytur would bring the boy, together with a few other Atrians who wanted to reunite with their families and live in a normal house. Seeing the grateful look on Gloria's face brought a warm feeling inside and the ensurance that she could indeed do her new job.

The fifty families were selected, most with young children and most from the Swamad tribe. There was a great piece of farmland included in Edendale Springs and especially now that the building of the new city had commenced, it was imperative that enough food could be grown for the new residents.

Unable to keep still for very long, Taylor walked around the room to look at every angle and finally they left the house to look at the others. They were here to pick one. A house, a real house for the three of them.

On the outside they were all pretty much the same. Houses like any other she had see her entire life. But somehow the idea that this was to be her home from now on, made it feel unreal.

She had her eyes set on a corner house, with a nice view and a large garden in which they could plant a tree for their child.

"The view is going to change considerably when New Atria gets build", Gloria commented, when she voiced her wishes.

"I know, but we already know where that is going to be, so I want a view away from that."

"As Pyarazen you might want to consider living a bit more central."

Oh, right, she hadn't thought about that. With a sigh she turned her eyes towards the center of the community. Short hedges were planted that one day would give more shelter and separation. Low fences, painted white, secluded a front yard with a path and room for flower beds.

They walked through the streets and finally Taylor picked one. There was nothing special about this house that made it different from the others, but it was in the middle of Edendale Springs and on a corner. She turned to look at Drake and Saroya. After all, this was not just her choice, they had to live here as well.

Mother and son were standing side by side, looking up at the two-story house with it's pointed roof and square windows. How would Saroya see it? Did she share the same feeling her son has, about losing memories? She had a lot more of them, perhaps someone could one day make a painting of the place that hopefully was still be in her mind.

How different would a human house be compared to the houses on Atria? Would they look more like the interiors of the pods? Full of colors and strange attributes? Or would they be like the ship? Maybe a lot more metal? There was a lake nearby. New Atria would be build around that lake. Edendale Springs didn't even have a river flowing through. Perhaps that's also a reason for the reserve.

At last, Drake turned towards her and shrugged. Saroya looked as well and smiled a little.

"This will do. Let's take a look inside."

Gloria left them alone after ensuring them that every family that moved here, would receive the ownership papers that belonged with the house.

All three of them were silent when Taylor turned the key she received from the case that Gloria had been carrying. Three keys, one for each of them.

The freshly painted red door opened without a sound and for the first time she set foot in the house that was now her own. There was a brown carpet on the floor in the hall. Hooks on the wall for coats and a bench with room for shoes beneath it. Everything was so normal, it actually startled her for a moment.

"You okay?" came Drake's voice from behind.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's just ..." She turned to face him and saw Saroya close the door behind her.

"It's strange, you know. Even though this all seems so incredibly normal, it's just ... This is our house now. Everything in it now belongs to us, but nothing is here that is actually mine."

The look in Drake's eyes told her that she now finally understood how he had felt for the past ten years and tears appeared in her eyes.

"Hey, it's alright. We will get all our stuff from the pod in here and somehow we will also get your stuff. It will become home, okay. We will make it home."

She hid her face in his chest and took a little time to get herself back under control. Then she sniffed and lifted her chin.

"Right, let's make this a home." She turned and with determination walked through the door to the living room.

They spent the entire morning looking through each room, deciding what had to go, what they would keep, which room was to be who's and which colors they wanted to change. There were three large bedrooms, two on one side of the house and one on the other. First Taylor wanted the one by itself, but Saroya hinted that they would need the second room when the baby was born and so it was decided.

The thought that Saroya might not be alone for much longer pressed on her, but Taylor held it safe inside. It was but a small chance and she didn't want to get hopes up only to have to see them get shattered when the search came back negative.

They had lunch with Gloria and her mother and discussed the need for a different sort of integration program. Like teaching the new inhabitants to go shopping in a grocery store or a mall instead of walking down the Sector market.

After that they went back home and reported their findings to Roman and the council. They would oversee the move of the fifty families that would begin tomorrow. The rest of the day was spent packing up everything they owned inside the Sector.

The move went as smoothly as a move could go. Large trucks drove into the Sector, collecting belongings and the bus brought the owners to their new homes. Taylor and Drake received the Atrians, most of whom had not set foot outside the Sector their whole lives. The children relished their new freedom and ran around, rolling over the grass, jumping over fences and yelling at each other from the windows of their new rooms. Seeing their enthusiasm made it easier for their parents to accept this new phase of their lives.

Taylor left it to Saroya to place all their stuff in their new living room and kitchen. Drake brought their things to the bedroom that they would share. With a sigh she stood in front of the large cabinet after she had hung up the few dresses she now owned.

"Look at it, it's pathetic. It's not even one fifth."

Drake wrapped her up in his arms from behind and placed his chin on her head. "We will get your stuff, don't worry. Soon you will have more stuff in here than will fit."

She smiled at that. "I miss my curling iron."

For the time being, their meals existed of whatever the SEU provided them with, but Taylor took it upon herself to educate the men and women about the American shopping system. Each family was given a tablet with which they could order anything they needed. The issue of money had already been addressed by Gloria and Jefferson. Jobs were made available, mostly in whatever was necessary to build New Atria, but courses were now accessible for those who wanted to learn something else. The same amount of money that had been given them inside the Sector, was now turned into an account.

A lot of problems needed a lot of answers and often Taylor had to skip school in order to perform her new function as Pyarazen. But the Atrians were as keen on making this work as she was, and overall things went smoothly. They seemed to accept her new role and treated her as one of their own.

Plans for the move of a second group were already in place and Edendale slowly got adjusted to the new community. Everything seemed to work out and even Jefferson's reasons for wanting integration to work became clear, as he too moved into a house, together with a young Atrian woman.

It was the Friday evening of the second week that their world was once again turned upside down.

The doorbell rang and Taylor, who had been restless after a whole day doing almost nothing but sitting and talking about the use of credit cards, jumped up to answer it.

"Roman, hi. What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" The look on his face made her nervous and she was about to call Drake, when Roman motioned for someone to come closer. She inched closer to the door to be able to see around the corner and saw a man walking up the path.

She didn't recognize him, but the markings on his face gave him away to be an Atrian. He was wearing a nice suit, but looked apprehensive. There was something in his face that seemed familiar, but before she could ask even one thing, the door behind her flew open with a loud bang and Saroya brushed past her and threw herself into the mans arms.

Taylor didn't need any explanation after that.

Her vision blurred as she stood there and watched both Saroya and Delem, because there was no doubt in her head that the tall, fierce looking man was Drake's father, cling to each other with tears streaming down their faces. Roman took a few steps back, nodded in her direction and left.

A gasp behind her alerted her to the fact that Drake was there and she quickly turned around to face him. His eyes were wide open and his lips trembled. She could see he was fighting back tears.

With her hand held out towards him, she whispered: "Drake."

He took her hand, completely overwhelmed and together they watched the reunion. More people emerged from their houses to see what the fuss was all about and Taylor could see it when the man was recognized. Perhaps it was better to move the reunion indoors.

"Saroya," she softly spoke, breaking the silence, "come inside."

She wasn't sure if Drake's mother heard her, but Drake seemed to wake up and called a little louder: "Mom!"

That made the man look up, shock written all over his face.

Saroya took a step back, wiped her cheeks dry, took one look around and with a small nod to the neighbors, pulled the man inside.

They were in the hallway now. Standing close together. Nobody saying a word, just staring.

Saroya was holding the hand of the man with the same kind of fervor that Taylor often felt towards Drake. His hand was trembling in hers.

She wanted to break the silence, but she was unsure how Drake's father would react to her. She was human and for the past ten years, Delem had been imprisoned by those same humans.

Drake was the first one to speak. "Mom?"

His voice was fragile. Like that of a child and involuntary she took a step closer to him.

"Drake?"

It wasn't Saroya who spoke next, it was the man. The man in whose features she could recognize his son. The same broad face and heavy set eyebrows, the same firm chin and set of his lips. She could see who Drake would become and felt her heartbeat fasten. Here stood a leader of his people. The one who had been given responsibility over the thousands who were on the ship. The one who had been betrayed and shot, but who had survived against all odds.

This was a man who would go to hell and back for his family and she did not want to be on his bad side.

Delem let go of Saroya, took a step forward and Taylor quickly stepped aside so the man could embrace his son. They were almost the same height, Drake was in fact a few inches taller. Just not as burly. How did Delem manage to remain so sturdy and healthy looking after all those years in the Crate? From what little Saroya had told, they were kept there in sinister conditions. Yet, the Atrians did have a few physical advantages which could have helped in their recovery.

Anyway, why was she thinking about that, right now? This was a moment of joy, not contemplation. Plenty of time for that later.

Drake's father held his son back a bit and shook his head over and over. "I can't believe how big you are. The last time I saw you ..." He had to fight back his grief and new tears threatened Taylor's vision. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and drew Delem's attention with that motion.

He looked at her and she almost forgot to breathe out of fear. But then the big man smiled, startled her by placing a hand on her belly and shook his head.

"Incredible, my son will have a son." He quickly added: "Or a daughter. So much I've missed." He held out his hand and she took it.

"My name is Delem, I am very pleased to meet you, Taylor."

Three of the four people in the hallway now frowned.

"How do you know her name? Did Roman tell you?" Saroya asked.

"Come, lets take a seat, there is much I have to tell you and much you will have to forgive, but I hope, in the end, we can be the family I always wished we could be."

Saroya closed the curtains, probably feeling the need for privacy, as there were still some neighbors conversing outside. Their questions would have to wait.

Taylor had grabbed Drake's hand again and was sitting next to him on the couch they brought over from the pod. Saroya went into the kitchen and took her time to make something to drink. She probably was trying to compose herself. Or maybe she was organizing the many questions that had to be in her mind. For Taylor knew that if they were anywhere near the amount that was swimming in her brain, it would be a long night.

When they were finally all seated, Delem said: "I think it is best if I begin at the beginning. Some you will already know and I fear that some things will come as a shock to you, but please hear me out."

He took a deep breath an began: "We had been searching for a viable planet for more than eight months. When we came into close proximity of Earth, we set our scanners to search for signs of intelligent live. It would take a while, but I kept distance to avoid detection. What we didn't know at that time was that the life support systems of the cryostasis-chambers had been malfunctioning. Our people were waking up. When the reports were coming in we still had a few hours to go before scans of the surface were complete."

Delem took a sip of his drink and continued: "We had a short meeting with the Iksen and Hwatab, who had been awoken earlier when we found the habitable planet. It was a problem that the stasis-chambers were no longer working, because we had not enough food and water on board to last us more than a month.

"Decided then was that we would land if the planet was uninhabited, but that we would contact the inhabitants if there were any. To ask for supplies, as we searched on. There were those who would rather take the planet by force if necessary, but our leaders rejected that course. I agreed.

"When the scans told us Earth was inhabited, I told my co-pilot", here, he looked at Saroya, who smiled at him with a bleak expression, "to set coordinates for the next planet."

Taylor nodded, this was what Emery had told her. What she had seen from the mirzan.

"Before I could contact the world below, to ask for aid, Castor came in and shot me. I was unconscious for the next part, but they told me the ship crash-landed."

"Who told you?" Drake was the one who asked the question, but it could just as well have been her.

Delem smiled as if he knew someone was bound to interrupt sooner or later. "When I woke up, I was in a hospital. They wouldn't tell me where and treated me with hostility, but the fact that I had been shot by one of our own seemed to fuel the need for answers.

"They studied me for quite some time and they sent someone to teach me English, so we could communicate. No one would tell me if any of my people had survived and for a long time I believed you were all dead." He swallowed, took some time to recollect his emotions and continued.

"Then one day they shipped me to Washington and there I've been these past ten years."

"Washington?" Taylor's outburst made them all turn to her and she quickly stammered: "Sorry."

She wondered if Saroya knew where Washington was. In the first few years after Arrival Day nobody really cared much for educating the aliens about the world they fell into. And when integration began, Drake's mom had been in the Crate. Did Delem know that? Had he known? All those years?

She concentrated on his words as he continued his story.

"The first year I was being held in a prison. Constantly questioned. They always wanted to know more about Atria, how many more were coming? How did our weapons work? How did we travel through space? I told them all I knew, figured it wouldn't do any good to keep anything and maybe they would let me go if they knew I was not a threat.

"In time they moved me to a more comfortable location, but I could never leave and I was never alone.

"When I mastered the language enough, others came to talk to me. About the location of Atria. I tried to be specific, but without my star charts I couldn't tell them and they wouldn't let me go back to the ship.

"In time they told me about the Sector and I wanted to go there, to find out if you were still alive, but after I gave your names, they merely said they couldn't find you. So I was certain you were dead." He took Saroya's hand in his and kissed her knuckles.

"There was no more reason for me to go back, and since they wouldn't let me, I made myself useful in Washington instead. There was a team there that communicated with someone here in Edendale about an integration program. They asked me a lot of questions about our educational system, our children, our development. I guess, in a way I helped you. After the events with the suvek, when things between our people suddenly improved, I was told you were part of that program." He looked at his son and from him to Taylor.

"I'd say it worked pretty well."

Her cheeks flushed and he smiled.

"I was finally released from my gilded cage and they told me all they knew. There was only one person who I knew could build that device and when I heard the names of the ones who tried to save the day, I knew they had lied to me all those years. You were still alive."

"And they let you go?" Apparently Drake was getting tired of merely listening.

"Not immediately, only when someone named Jefferson pulled some strings. I guess they are trying to get on our good side now, since our ships are coming and they won't crash-land."

The story was finished, but there was so much more to say. After a while, Taylor felt Drake's parents needed some time alone and she pulled her boyfriend with her. "Let's go to bed. You can talk to him in the morning. I think they need to be together now."

She saw Drake wanted to object, but when he looked over his shoulder and saw that his parents were no longer looking at them, he nodded.

"I can't believe he is here", Drake said, when they were lying in bed, later on. "Alive."

"I can't believe they kept him in Washington all those years. But it sure explains how they knew so much about your people even before integration began."

"Yes, and why they never let anyone near the ship."

"Not that it stopped everyone." Taylor thought about Teri and the hurricane. Would they ever break it down? Or was there hope that the new ships could somehow fix it? Roman had already received conformation that there was no way that the ships could leave Earth again after they landed. Earth was their only hope.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and if you'd like, I'd be very honoured with a comment.

All of a sudden, months began to fly. Easter came and went, exams were taken and Taylor grew bigger every day.

Drake's father turned out to be an easy person to live with. All those years in custody hadn't made him angry or resentful towards humans. "They treated me well", he'd answered when Drake asked one day how he could not hate them.

Taylor felt that after her final exam was made, she could just as well stay at home, especially now that she looked like a whale. Or at least, she felt she did. Everybody kept telling her she looked amazing.

One day, Emery knocked on the door and handed her a big duffel-bag. When she opened it, it was filled with everything Emery had been able to fit in there from her old room.

"How ... how did you ...?" She felt tears brimming when she took out her curling-iron. "Oh, I have missed you."

Emery laughed and explained: "Drake told us, at school, how you sometimes missed your old house and your stuff, so I went to your house after school. Your dad wasn't home and your mom almost wouldn't let me in. But I ... I persuaded her." With her most self-assured smile, Emery flipped her hair over her shoulder, but then her expression turned serious.

"I told her that if she ever wanted the chance to see her daughter again, or be a part of her grandchild's life, she needed to grow up and get over her petty prejudices. Then I marched up to your room and took this."

Her face flushed a little, but she stuck her chin up. "I left a note with your address on it on your bed, so", she shrugged, "who knows."

Taylor threw her arms around the brunette and sobbed: "Thank you Em, you are amazing."

The outcome of Emery's actions was not exactly what Taylor had hoped, because a few days later a small van stopped in front of the house who delivered the rest of her belongings.

Taylor cried for a solid hour after that and even knowing her favorite dress was now in her own closet once again didn't help the heartache.

Right now she couldn't see it, but she had to believe that maybe one day, her parents would accept her choice. With all her heart she clung to that hope.

The ships were only a few weeks away and New Atria was far from ready. Luckily the majority of the people in stasis could remain that way for a few months more, giving the others time to finish the houses and apartments. Funding had been raised from all over the world thanks to several campaigns that highlighted the fact that Atrians saved the world from a dangerous threat. And that their planet was destroyed due to some disaster and that Earth was the only planet that could save a dying race.

True or not, the campaigns worked. Saroya offered her skills as a technician and Drake and his father worked side by side on the construction site, ensuring an income that gave them a comfortable life.

Taylor opened their house to all Atrians that needed help or answers or just a listening ear. She learned to speak Sondiv and rather enjoyed being the center of attention in her new community.

Gloria's secret came out, but thanks to Roman's foreseeing eye, the integration program was not harmed by it. The little boy was easily accepted and his mother tolerated. At least by most.

Soon it became a bet whether the ships would arrive first, or Drake and Taylor's child. It figured that in the end, both turned up at the same time.

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The first day of summer, Drake burst into the house, yelling: "Taylor? They are here. The ships are in orbit. Taylor?"

There was no reply, so he grabbed his phone to check if she sent him a text, what she usually did when she left the house. Saroya made her promise to do so, since the baby was due very soon. Like all women from his tribe, Taylor remained fit and strong right till the end, so they had to keep tabs on her, because the birth could begin without much warning ahead.

There was no text, which made him frown. Was she still in the house? He ran up the stairs, two, three steps at the time and checked all the rooms. Empty.

"Taylor?" He yelled again, alarm seeping into his voice.

This time he heard a little noise coming from downstairs. He flew down, almost falling over his own feet and when he yelled her name again, her voice came from the kitchen.

He found her on the kitchen floor, a big cut in her hand, which she tried to stem with the dishtowel and a face as white as the tiles in the bathroom.

"Drake, it hurts", she gasped.

He immediately took her hand and began to wipe the wound clean, but Taylor pulled her hand away and cried: "No, not the hand, my stomach."

"What? Why?" With the bloody cloth in his hand, he stared confused at the dress she was wearing. It was quite lovely and she looked gorgeous in it, even though she wouldn't believe him anymore if he tried to ensure her of his admiration.

"The baby, you idiot, your baby is coming."

"My baby?" It took him a few seconds to figure out what she was talking about, but then his circuits fried. He froze. With the towel still clutched in his hand.

It wasn't until his brain registered that Taylor, muttering and groaning, tried to get up, that his muscles were able to move again.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting up, you dumb-ass, I'm not planning on having this baby on the kitchen floor."

He dropped the towel and scooped her up as gently as he could. "Whereto?"

"How about the hospital? And call Gloria, she promised to keep the press away. And call your mother, I want her there." If Taylor wanted to say more, she couldn't, for the next thing that came out of her mouth was a scream.

"What? What's wrong?"

Panting, she replied through her teeth: "It hurts, you imbecile. I'm having contractions."

"Should I call a doctor?"

She was glaring at him, why was she glaring at him? Oh right, they needed to go to the hospital. He was running to the front door with her in his arms and almost left the house, when she screamed: "The bag, don't forget the bag."

What bag? Oh the one by the door. The one she made ready weeks ago for exactly this moment. Carefully he bent down, until she could reach the handle with her free arm and then he carried her outside. It was a good thing he had learned to drive a car. Not that he had his license, but he knew how to get to the hospital. He placed Taylor in the passenger seat, dialed Gloria's number, pressed the phone in her hand and ran around the car to hop in the front seat.

He heard Taylor's raspy voice as she talked to Gloria and tried to focus on what he was supposed to do next. Gear, brake, ehm...

Just as he was about to panic, a knock on the window made him look up. Gloria, with the phone in her hand, motioned for him to get out. He quickly obeyed and leaped in the back, as Gloria took his place, checked on Taylor with a swift once over and drove off. He caught the phone that Taylor threw at him and called his parents. They would meet them at the hospital.

It was a short drive in which Gloria called everyone that needed to stand ready to assemble. By the time they arrived at the front door of the hospital, SEU guards were there to guide them inside. There was no press yet, but that was only a matter of time.

A wheelchair stood waiting to take Taylor to the labor ward, she had a room all for herself and he was glad for it.

Everything happened so fast, Drake had a hard time concentrating. Yet he made sure that Taylor didn't go anywhere without him. Which was kind of impossible, since she was squeezing his hand so hard it hurt.

He had never seen a birth before, why would he? And it scared him to death that he had to be present now. At the same time he knew he wouldn't want to be anywhere else. His girl, his beautiful, blond, pigheaded, control freak of a human was about to deliver his baby. He was so not ready for this.

He stood by while they helped her change and get into the hospital bed. When Taylor asked, he checked his phone to see if his mom was almost there. She was. And then there was really nothing further to do than wait.

Every time a new contraction hit Taylor, he let her squeeze his hand. Soothing words only seemed to rile her up, so he remained silent and followed the movements of the hospital personnel as they adjusted screens, checked vitals and read data which made no sense to him.

When the time came for the baby to be born, Taylor was quickly wheeled to the delivery room. His heartbeat calmed considerably when his mother arrived. They were both told to change into hospital robes, which he did, but it made him feel terribly awkward. When Taylor saw him, she wanted to burst out laughing, but a heavy contraction took all of her breath away.

Just before the doors closed he saw his father and Roman and Emery. Probably more of their friends were waiting down the hall. The SEU had a list of who were permitted near the room they were in.

The next half hour was the longest of his life. There was nothing he could do but stand beside Taylor and look as she struggled and did all the hard work. Seeing the sweat dripping from her face made him almost feel guilty, but the look on his mothers face told him this was a happy moment.

Hopefully Taylor would agree afterwards and forgive him. She looked rather angry at the moment.

With one final scream, Taylor pushed the baby out and all of a sudden the discomfort, awkwardness and guilt were gone. Replaced. By sheer amazement.

The doctor held up the baby and Drake almost choked when he saw it was a boy. He had a son.

Between two heavy breaths, Taylor demanded: "Give me my baby." And then there was suddenly this tiny bundle in her arms. Hastily wiped clean and wrapped in a soft towel. A cry of protest left the tiny lips and beneath the pinched eyes were little markings that softly glowed where moist glistened.

It was the most beautiful sight Drake had ever seen in his life.

When both Taylor and the baby were checked out and found one hundred percent healthy, he was allowed to take the baby into the hall to show his newborn son to his father and friends.

Emery was crying, like his mother in the room with Taylor, who was already getting back to being her old peppy self. But there were also tears in his fathers eyes as the big man took the tiny infant in his arms.

"A grandson." He pressed a gentle kiss on the baby's head and gave him back to Drake. Through the door they heard Taylor shout: "Drake, bring me back my baby."

They all laughed, but before Drake could walk back into the room, Delem said: "I have to go with Roman, the lead ship will land soon and we have to be there. Call us if you need anything!"

Drake brought the baby back to it's mother and explained the sudden absence of Delem and Roman. He kissed Taylor's forehead and smiled. "Leave it to you to beat all odds and win me some money at the same time."

"What do you mean?" Saroya asked.

"I wagered that Taylor would deliver on the exact day the ships would land. Guess I won."

They didn't have to wait long for information about the ships, as the news was broadcast worldwide. The lead-ship looked exactly like the one Drake crash-landed in all those years ago, only this one was undamaged and landed horizontally, like it was supposed to.

It was strange to see how deferent things could have gone, had Castor not shot his father. Drake felt proud to see Delem and Roman standing near the ship, next to Jefferson and the vice-president of the USA, welcoming the pilot and co-pilot as they emerged. He could have watched from outside, like the rest of Edendale probably had, since the ship landed not far from New Atria. But there was no way he left Taylor and his son alone.

"No hate-groups", Taylor whispered, not wanting to wake the baby that was sound asleep in her arms.

It was true, outside the gates that surrounded the landing area hundreds of journalists and cameramen were swarming. There were a few small groups of people with banners, but they seemed just as welcoming. Some were even dressed like aliens.

Everything appeared to be an ideal first encounter, like Arrival Day never happened. Like the world had forgotten all about the night Edendale was shocked into awareness that the human race was not alone in the universe.

Drake looked at his girlfriend, whose attention was no longer on the screen, and softly exhaled. Perhaps this was for the best. Everything that had happened over the past ten years had led to this moment and he was grateful for what this life had eventually brought him. Yet maybe the world was better of not remembering the pain and loss he, and countless others, had had to suffer.

Today they were given a new start, a new beginning. A new Arrival Day.

He placed one finger in the tiny fist that had escaped the light blue blanket and smiled. Yes, this time all was well.

_The End_


End file.
